Album per day: Day 15

Artist: Pavement
Album: Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Released: 1994

Who would've thought that at a moment in time, alternative rock was one at the forefront of the music world? Bands like Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam reigned supreme, and similar bands were making a ruckus around the world. One of those bands was the now defunct Pavement, an American rock band who hold a somewhat cult status nowadays for leading the line of the underground indie rock movement. Their album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain was said to define the nineties, and for a decade which has given us so many brilliant artists, I decided I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
Silence Kit and Elevate Me Later have nineties rock written all over them, churning out distortion and melodic backing vocals all the same. It's very Pablo Honey (early Radiohead). Cut Your Hair was a moderate commercial success when released as a single, and you can see why it was chosen for release: the backing vocals designed to hook the listener and make sure they have it in their head for the foreseeable future. There was clearly a template style in alternative rock music back then, because I hear traces of Weezer and even The Dandy Warhols in here, meaning this must have had an influence on these groups, although Weezer released their debut album around the same time, which I already reviewed, so check that out! I loved the nineties, and would happily live in it as a teenager if this is what was considered to be the scene to be in.
Unfair is a balls-to-the-wall rocker, adding guitar effects to an already comprehensive wall of noise, and vocalist Stephen Malkmus leads the song to its end with his tormented wailing. Gold Soundz has a more positive vibe about it, making Malkmus sound like the polar opposite of messrs Corgan and Yorke. But whilst the music is upbeat and infectious, the lyrics are self-loathing and hard to grasp. Onto 5-4=Unity, and I feel like I've just entered a jazz club in New Orleans. This short instrumental piece puts pianos and the bass guitar in focus, and suddenly a cigarette has appeared in my mouth, and my fedora is firmly tipped (m'lady). The pop melodies of Range Life call to mind the post-Britpop of Travis, but with more aggro, and Heaven Is A Truck applies the wah-wah pedal in such a carefree, but soothing manner. Closing song Fillmore Jive is the magnum opus of the album if you can call it that, exceeding six minutes without following a typical song structure, and it brings Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain to an epic and noisy close.
The critical acclaim that this album received is easy to understand. It's a record many can put on from start to finish and not skip one song, simply because it's all killer, no filler. This doesn't mean all of the songs are brilliant, but each song has at least one quality about it that makes it distinctive and special. These Californian boys are now grown men, and I'm sure I wouldn't be alone in approving their reunion. Maybe they could show these modern indie bands a thing or two about emotion and talent.

Rating: 8.5/10
Recommended tracks: Cut Your Hair, Unfair, Gold Soundz, Fillmore Jam