Pavement

Pavement’s extraordinary fifth album is their first to be recorded in 24-track fidelity and the first to feature the production work of Nigel Godrich (recently at the controls for Radiohead’s OK Computer and Beck’s Mutations album). The result is a spacious, detailed sound bigger than any previous Pavement record. The guitars are crystalline, the highs and lows clearly separated. At last, Stephen Malkmus emerges as one of the most expressive male voices in rock.

“Pavement have evolved from garage-rock pranksters to the most surefire band on the planet.”
Rob Sheffield, Details

After eleven years of making music, Pavement continue to surprise and provoke. Terror Twilight layers soaring vocal melodies over Ringo Starr tempo changes, blues jams and the swing of the Groundhogs, and early 70s classic rock tropes from Don McLean to the James Gang. No mere compendium of influences, this album’s awareness of rock history lends it epic proportions. One could compare it to Loaded or Abbey Road for its effortless juxtaposition of the ordinary and the bizarre, for placing a warmhearted pop song like “Spit On A Stranger” alongside the ominous Black Sabbath-inspired epic, “The Hexx”.

“Pavement stand as the finest rock band of the ’90s.”
Robert Christgau, Village Voice

Packing more musicality into Pavement’s unique worldview, Terror Twilight sees the band’s indie credentials giving way to their latent classic rock status. Here, they sound like an important band. By far their most solid and coherent album to date, Terror Twilight still contains the classic Pavement elements: a countryish, folky roots-rock shamble foundation, cryptic lyrics and the occasional two-second blast of white noise. Bigger production, greater variety, and a higher level of emotional investment elevate this album above its immediate predecessors.

There’s nothing to be scared of. Terror Twilight shows that rock’s future is in safe hands here.

“Is Pavement the greatest rock band of all time?”
Matt Diehl, Request