Pavement was one of the most influential indie-rock bands of the 1990s, and they never looked like they broke a sweat trying. The slacker look and attitude may have been part of the appeal. But buried beneath lumps of noise, “Slanted and Enchanted” also contained catchy, memorable tunes.
“Slanted and Enchanted” has a cult all of its own. It’s regularly namechecked as one of the most important independent rock releases of all time. But is it all hype? Did the music hipsters have us all fooled? I am looking back and reviewing Pavement’s debut album.
Pavement’s Road to Making “Slanted and Enchanted”
Pavement had no gimmick, and that was its gimmick. It wasn’t antifashion and retro-rock worshipping like grunge bands. It didn’t turn distorted power-chords into pop hits like post-grunge bands. Not did the band incorporate rap like nu-metal or classic punk hooks like the skate and pop-punk bands.
In the hands of nearly every other band like them but blessed with less talent, Pavement would’ve just been a lo-fi rock group whose records sounded like rehearsal tapes or radio stations coming through fuzzily through the speakers.
But there was little ordinary about Pavement or the people who started the band. Formed in Stockton, California, Pavement was the brainchild and off-work recreational activity of Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg, aka Spiral Stairs. They were friends and, along with David Berman, later of Silver Jews, worked in music and liked goofing around, commenting on art, and writing songs, in that order.
Pavement itself started out as a bit of a goof. Early recordings were said to be inspired by The Fall, The Replacements and The Rolling Stones. But it was what the duo could do instinctively, without much fuss or effort, that caught the ears of those who first heard the group.
The buzz generated by the early demos and handful of live shows was colossal in the American rock underground. And, with the backing of indie rock’s hipster elite, “Slanted and Enchanted” was on April 20, 1992.
Review of “Slanted and Enchanted”
Pavement is a great band that gives the impression that it never had to work for it. The songs, the charm, the slack aesthetic just came naturally. And it did.
A lot of other famous bands, like Nirvana or The Replacements, like to pretend a similar thing. However, while those groups embraced chaos, both Paul Westerberg and Kurt Cobain had a roadmap for their eventual success.
Instead, Malkmus and Kannberg’s songs simply sound like like an interpretation of the duo’s shared indie-rock record collection while not being able to exactly figure out the chords.
Everything that Pavement can’t do as well as a professional band ends up being the group’s strength. The dissonant guitar playing, in fact, created a school of its own. The stream-of-consciousness lyrics paint interesting pictures in your head. And, although you can’t hear him very well, Malkmus’ singing is distinctive.
The not being able to hear it very well is one of the album’s secret ingredients. At a time when every grunge and pop-punk band made pristine recordings, Pavement’s albums charmingly sounded like a third-generation cassette recording of an album. However, that only increased its appeal for many. “Slanted and Enchanted” felt like discovering a discarded piece of treasure.
It’s not all scattershot material, either. “Slanted and Enchanted” includes the best selection of songs by Pavement, even if some of them don’t quite feel like fully formed compositions just yet.
“Slanted & Enchanted” Review
The album opens with, easily, Pavement’s most memorable, hooky tune. “Summer Babe – Winter Version” has guitars hissing, Malkmus telling nonsensical stories, and a noise-rock chorus that asks you to singalong. It is still a mighty exciting recording.
The rest of the songs are just as noisy and often as hooky. But nothing here is as structured for the rock single format. “Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite At: 17” sounds like a garage band trying to remember a Beach Boys song, failing, and replacing the chords and lyrics. “Zurich is Stained” is short and melancholy-filled but just as obscure.
“No Life Singed Her” and “Conduit for Sale!” have Malkmus screaming over clouds of distorted guitar noise. “Perfume-V” sounds like a psych-rock riff made up on the spot, but once again, Malkmus’ ramblings are fascinating.
Yeah, “Slanted and Enchanted” gets by on charm and on the ability to sound like a recording of someone giving you coordinates to a special meeting place where the details of a tremendous conspiracy theory are discussed. It’s an untraditionally made, really good album. And, it’s difficult to bottle this kind of creative energy and recreate it, as Pavement would find out.
Legacy of “Slanted & Enchanted”
“Slanted and Enchanted” first became a hit with indie-rock hipsters, then with college-rock radio in the U.S., and finally with the cool journalists crowds in the U.K.
This meant that Pavement reluctantly turned into a professional band. They were the champions of the people, or, at least, the people who liked independent rock and hated all the alt-rock being played on the radio.
Albums like “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain” proved that Pavement was not a flash in the pan. But it also proved that whatever “Slanted and Enchanted” had about it couldn’t be redone either by the people who made it or by the numerous copycats and disciples of slackerdom that appeared in its wake.
“Slanted and Enchanted” is routinely included on lists celebrating the best albums of the 90s and, indeed, the greatest albums ever made. RollingStone, Pitchfork, and Blender all think so. But, perhaps, most importantly, I, on Alt77, have called it the third-best indie-rock album ever made in my dedicated post.
The album has sold nearly 150,000, and every single one of those copies belongs to someone who must think they’re pretty cool. Hey, it’s a good start!
