Pavement

It's not easy being a songwriter who matters when no one knows what you're talking
about. But, at his best, Pavement's Stephen Malkmus pulls it off. Depending on how linear
he's feeling, Malkmus' lyrics range in difficulty from Myst conundrums to Jackson Pollock
paintings. The difference on Pavement's new album, Brighten the Corners, is that while
Malkmus is as oblique as ever, the band's sound is coming into fully realized focu... More >

Mature or die is the whole of the law. So of course there's no longer much insurgency in their ill-mannered sounds, now deployed to serenade a self-sustaining subculture and celebrate a band's collective success. Moderate tempos that once breathed psychedelic wooze turn reflective if not thoughtful as lyrics reference the material emoluments of middle-class life. Yet it's still exciting, because it isn't dragged under by the nagging disappointments that generally dull such music (and security). As convinced ironists, Pavement never expected anything else. Closure is a chimera--they'll drink to that. Onetime insurgent Thelonious Monk--they'll drink to him, too. A man known for his brilliant corners. (Grade: A)