Album: Slanted & Enchanted
Artist: Pavement
Artist: Pavement
Born: Stockton, California
Released: April 1992
Genre: Indie Rock
Like Nirvana, Pavement gave voice to the slacker ethos of Generation X, but did so in a more ramshackle, lo-fi way. Slanted & Enchanted doesn't have the varnished feel of Nevermind, but Pavement still matched Nirvana in terms of primitive, unrefined rock & roll. Although inspired by major label acts like REM and Echo & the Bunnymen, as well as the west coast melodies of fellow Californians the Beach Boys, Pavement definitely pioneered their own unique sound and came to define US indie rock. Mark E Smith said that Pavement's raw approach was a "rip off" of The Fall's early sound, but I'm not sure that's completely fair. Sometimes a stripped-down approach is dictated more by budget than musical taste. Slanted & Enchanted was the band's first album, recorded in just a week in a garage studio for less than $1,000 and released initially as a cassette without song titles. Stephen Malkmus was Pavement's figurehead as principal songwriter and singer, joined by his friends guitarist Scott Kannberg and drummer Gary Young. All three had their quirks and little ambition for mainstream success, but music critics quickly caught on to the album's charms and it became an underground hit. Malkmus himself has since said that Slanted & Enchanted is Pavement's best album because it has a "less self-conscious and ... unrepeatable energy about it".
Album opener Summer Babe (Winter Version) makes for a dreamy start, but straight away it's clear that Malkmus' surreal, cut & paste approach to lyrics is being used to disorientate and amuse the listener ("I saw your girlfriend and she was / eating her fingers like they're just another meal"). This approach to songwriting is similar to REM in some respects, in that the words are deliberately obscure and being used as props for the music rather than to convey meaning. Trigger Cut is another highlight on the record, enhanced by Malkmus' bizarre vocal delivery that somehow invests apparently nonsense lyrics with warmth and emotion. No Life Singed Here is closer to the noise rock of Sonic Youth, while In The Mouth A Desert is another highlight and borrows a trick from the Pixies (spoken backing vocals). Though there are some irritating, filler tracks (like Chelsey's Little Wrists), these are quickly forgotten in the presence of indie rock classics like Zurich Is Stained and Here. One reason that Slanted & Enchanted is so lauded, especially in the States, is that it reclaimed underground, slacker rock from the industry execs that were drooling over Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Pavement released their early EPs on Drag City and Slanted & Enchanted on Matador Records, and both these labels have gone on to define indie music in the US. Pavement's influence can't be overstated.
Like Nirvana, Pavement gave voice to the slacker ethos of Generation X, but did so in a more ramshackle, lo-fi way. Slanted & Enchanted doesn't have the varnished feel of Nevermind, but Pavement still matched Nirvana in terms of primitive, unrefined rock & roll. Although inspired by major label acts like REM and Echo & the Bunnymen, as well as the west coast melodies of fellow Californians the Beach Boys, Pavement definitely pioneered their own unique sound and came to define US indie rock. Mark E Smith said that Pavement's raw approach was a "rip off" of The Fall's early sound, but I'm not sure that's completely fair. Sometimes a stripped-down approach is dictated more by budget than musical taste. Slanted & Enchanted was the band's first album, recorded in just a week in a garage studio for less than $1,000 and released initially as a cassette without song titles. Stephen Malkmus was Pavement's figurehead as principal songwriter and singer, joined by his friends guitarist Scott Kannberg and drummer Gary Young. All three had their quirks and little ambition for mainstream success, but music critics quickly caught on to the album's charms and it became an underground hit. Malkmus himself has since said that Slanted & Enchanted is Pavement's best album because it has a "less self-conscious and ... unrepeatable energy about it".
Album opener Summer Babe (Winter Version) makes for a dreamy start, but straight away it's clear that Malkmus' surreal, cut & paste approach to lyrics is being used to disorientate and amuse the listener ("I saw your girlfriend and she was / eating her fingers like they're just another meal"). This approach to songwriting is similar to REM in some respects, in that the words are deliberately obscure and being used as props for the music rather than to convey meaning. Trigger Cut is another highlight on the record, enhanced by Malkmus' bizarre vocal delivery that somehow invests apparently nonsense lyrics with warmth and emotion. No Life Singed Here is closer to the noise rock of Sonic Youth, while In The Mouth A Desert is another highlight and borrows a trick from the Pixies (spoken backing vocals). Though there are some irritating, filler tracks (like Chelsey's Little Wrists), these are quickly forgotten in the presence of indie rock classics like Zurich Is Stained and Here. One reason that Slanted & Enchanted is so lauded, especially in the States, is that it reclaimed underground, slacker rock from the industry execs that were drooling over Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Pavement released their early EPs on Drag City and Slanted & Enchanted on Matador Records, and both these labels have gone on to define indie music in the US. Pavement's influence can't be overstated.
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