Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

On their second full-length album (not counting a compilation of early singles and EPs), Pavement emerge from the noisy clang and clutter to reveal the once-hidden songcraft and passion that made their previous recordings so mysteriously fascinating. The mystery may have receded on Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, but the fascination increases, for this album confirms what we only suspected before: Pavement are a great rock & roll band. The two Stockton, California, slackers who founded the band in 1989 have mastered the pop alchemy of transforming the collision of impatient youthful desires and a hostile world into aching, melodic vocals and driving, melodic guitar riffs. The band's cofounders use an element of suspense to illustrate just how fragile romantic optimism really is. When Steve Malkmus yearns for a human connection in his suburban community ("Silence Kid," "Range Life") or in the alternative-rock scene ("Cut Your Hair," "Fillmore Jive"), the elegant melodies let us know that the yearning is unironic, while the unstable guitars let us know the prospects are bleak. On the album's last song, they bid "good-night to the rock & roll era" even as they're giving it a new lease on life. --Geoffrey Himes Amazon.com

"janitor-x" has a point here

I once read in "EG" in the Melbourne "Age" that Pavement were a landmark band - something never challenged until the bitterly critical reviews by "janitor-x" who saw Pavement as a "rip-off" and emotionless. I really felt I had to listen, and my brother's record collection made that task easy.

Slanted and Enchanted was as bad a mess as you will ever hear: not so much emotionless as unfocused and often overblown so that it is not the alternative it is presumed to the terrible grunge that dominated the airwaves back then. On their second album "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain", Pavement at least become much more focused than they were on their debut. They write actual songs in a way seldom in evidence on "Slanted", and "Stop Breathing" is quite touching even if it is a type of song I have heard rather too much of in recent years.

The famous "Cut Your Hair", however, could be grunge if it were less sparsely produced and Malkmus's voice really is terrible when he tries to hit the loud parts. The badge on the inside which copies Aerosmith exactly, suggests Pavement secretly want to be a true "hard rock" band but still have credential with the rock critics. "5-4 = Unity" is actually a real rip-off of Sonic Youth as "janitor-x" said many times, whilst "Range Life" predates the annoying radio pop of the 2000s and Pavement seemingly refuse to rage. "Hit The Plane Down" sounds like funk-metal with terrible synthesised vocals. "Fillmore Jive" though, has quite real passion without being overblown, yet is not enough to redeem all the failed experiments of previous tracks, especially as Malkmus' voice lacks real intimacy and is too close to hair-metal for comfort.

Whilst this is better than Pavement's debut, it is still quite ordinary and even the better songs have been done more consistently elsewhere. Also, people see Pavement as "lo-fi" innovators, but beyond their recording methods they often sound either like grunge with hair metal vocals or ordinary 2000s radio pop. "janitor-x" really has a point about them being one of the most overrated bands in music history. November 20, 2007

Indie hero masterwork

One of the few major alternative rock bands from the 90s to be able to honestly grasp that title (most were either too obscure to be major or got a lot of radio play and lost that "alt" label), Pavement did score a big underground hit with "Cut Your Hair," one of the best singles of the decade that a lot of people have still never heard. On their second album, Pavement continue their slacker vibe tradition and crank out warm and melodic pop songs with a hard rock attitude. They didn't go for the pink noise effect or try to change the world with their "omniscient" observations, but preferred the less groundbreaking method--and it worked.

"Fillmore Jive" is a rare epic for them, and one of their all-time best tracks. "Unfair" and "Stop Breathin'" are thoroughly underrated gems and "Silence Kit" has a smooth and buried melody that's gorgeous beneath the hard-tuned guitar line. Only the disappointingly tepid "Heaven Is a Truck" doesn't hit the mark.

Teeters on the brink of great album and true masterpiece--replayability threatens to tip it over, but its product-of-its-times factor keeps on pushing it back (so many smaller bands have aped their successful ingredients, that it loses some of its freshness). Fans of the band probably own about three copies of this by now; fans of indie and alternative rock must have it if they don't already.

Best cuts: "Fillmore Jive," "Silence Kit," "Cut Your Hair," "Unfair," "Stop Breathin'," "Newark Wilder," "Gold Soundz," "Range Life," "Elevate Me Later," "5-4=Unity," "Hit the Plane Down" September 11, 2007

Pavement at their near best

I enjoy pavement. Reviewing music is difficult due to the fact that liking music revolves around personal taste. That being said, if you are a fan of pavement, this cd is for you. I enjoy the vocals, melodies, and lyrics of this album. This is my 2nd favorite album by the group, and if you don't own it and are considering purchasing it, GO FOR IT, YOU WON'T BE LET DOWN. July 13, 2007

So good...if you want it to be.

I was in Florida on vacation the day Kurt Cobain shot himself. I remember staring out into the ocean trying to understand why he would do such a thing. Later that night I saw the video for 'Cut Your Hair' and my world shifted ever so slightly. I bought this record on the recommendation of a friend who was an avid ministry fan. I'm not sure how or why he knew about it but I owe him big time. The thing is when I got this record I hated the sh*t out of it. It was terrible, the worst music ever, oh my god, my allowance for the year...WASTED. But somehow I kept listening and slowly it crept in between my synapses and has been blocking the flow of relevant thoughts ever since. When you listen to the music you feel filled with sad beams of sunlight. You are traveling across the desert with an ex-girlfriend to drop her off in a different city. But you are strangely at peace with this and you are angry in a fun way. You want to f*ck s*it up...melodically. Gold Soundz, Fillmore Jive, Elevate Me Slowly, Unfair, Range Life, and Silence Kit are all brilliant individually. The rest of the songs are essential to make the album whole. This is my favorite album of all time. April 30, 2006

handmedown

i didn't get why my older bro used to liek this, though i always thought cut your hair was funny, but now i think i get it, March 24, 2006

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