Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

Tuneful without being soft, confident without being pompous, and hip without being inaccessible, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain marked a major leap for Pavement in the rock and roll evolution cycle. They gained some pop smarts, but a casual listen to the dissonant guitar solo on “Cut Your Hair” proves that the seeds planted with 1989’s debut Slay Tracks EP had fully blossomed.

Stephen Malkmus and company crafted an album that didn’t betray their roots as prominent indie noise-makers, nor did it hold back their growth as a musical ensemble. While their inspired eccentricity is toned down—the instrumental tribute to fellow Stockton native Dave Brubeck being the closest nod to their early quirks—this is still their most consistent set of stubbornly catchy songs.

From the odd tunings and drunken AC/DC-style riffing of “Silence Kit,” with its somber reflections on leaving urban life behind, to the epic closer “Fillmore Jive,” which pleads for us to “say good night to the rock and roll era,” Crooked Rain plays like a collection of short stories—full of irony, wit, and undeniable hooks.