Every Monday, Sam tirelessly brings you the lowdown on all of those bands you really should know by now. Click the links to hear more.
Somewhere, deeply buried beneath a whole of fuzz, crunch and general noise, a laconic voice that switches from calm into manic fits, Stephen Malkmus declares he does what he wants and then that he’s been “crowned the king of it”.
What “it” really is might be debatable, but one thing is for sure: there was a point where lo-fi (the stripped, barebones reaction to the overproduced glitz of the eighties) and post punk met and from that point came Pavement, one loved band that despite not gathering much success at the time, they achieved a cult status that eventually grew and expanded.
Formed by Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg in Stockton, California, Pavement started out with Slanted & Enchanted, a noisy mix of music with lyrics filled with stream of consciousness observations.
As the darlings of Matador Records (now that’s some indie cred), the band released five records during the ’90s with a constant release of EPs and rarities sometimes being unleashed inbetween. Although getting a few digs from band favourite The Fall, they did find their own sound with 1995′s Wowee Zowee, a veritable mish-mash of genres that sound as confused and as charming as Malkmus’ lyrics.
Erratic behaviour from some members and some personality clashes ended up wearing and tearing the band, with the band parting ways in 2000. Malkmus’ style of writing survives to this day and age with his side project, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, which although still managing to go into strange territories (progressive folk?), it still keeps his essence.
After four Malkmus solo efforts, the band reunited to release a collection of hits. The reunion has been said not to be permanent by all members, but it’s nice to have them around even if it’s just for one more tour.
Check some of Pavement’s best (well, at least the ones available in Spotify):
Forge – Pavement
Some bands you might like too:
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Silver Jews
Sparklehorse
Mark Lanegan
Modest Mouse
Afghan Whigs
Sonic Youth
Slint (particularly Tweez)
Melvins
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