Slanted And Enchanted

This first album comes off like a more laid back Sonic Youth, but with a sense of humor and a sensibility for brighter/catchier hooks. Stephen Malkmus' approach to songwriting, particularly his lyrics, blew me away when I first started really paying attention to them. Largely free of rhyme schemes, yet utterly memorable. Obviously very well educated with vocabulary and obscure references in spades, yet he pops his own intellectual bubbles by tempering it with whimsical goofiness and the mundane. The delivery and phrasing also underscore this in their playful and "casual" nature. Although this may sound very "normal" and familiar now, it is because their sound and approach have been so completely absorbed into modern indie music that it is almost difficult to recognize their originality in hindsight. One of the main tributaries of influence in indie rock. An absolute pillar. Loosen up.

If it’s dog shit you want, look for pavement

Like Steely Dan looking in a cracked mirror, Pavement provide a wry slant on... things... too oblique to pin down but suggestive enough to catch a whiff. But whereas the Dan's semi-sarcasm comes across (to me) in their technical virtuosity, these guys prefer loosening all the bolts in their machine and incorporating the rattle to Becker/Fagen's precision engineering. The stop-start nature of the singsong screech-thud-sludge combos here, in tandem with Malkmus' head-just-above-water vocals, are all you need to tell something's gone off in the fridge even if lines like "fruit-covered nails" and "Zurich is stained and it's not my fault" don't tell you exactly what. Harking back further than Steely Dan, to my ears Pavement's patient zero is the Velvet Underground's Murder Mystery. One of these songs even bears a remarkable simiarity to it--just don't ask me which one. Like all Pavement albums, S+E is an ouroboros that leaves me blissfully dislocated from start to finish.

Never got the fuss for pavement, crap lyrics and bog average noise

A firm favorite since I happily swapped my unloved copy of "Bandwagonesque" for this raggedy sonic wonderland in early '92. One of those masterpieces where every song is the best one on the album. I remember Mark E Smith being pissed off by how much they ripped him off at the time, and you can hear it on a few tracks, but it's Slates/Hex-era Fall with better tunes so all good from my perspective (kinda like how Chicken Tikka Masala is the archetypal Indian dish despite originating in Glasgow). Weird to think it was them or Nirvana as the next great indie hopefuls on MTV. Have I mentioned before how much I like Pavement? Some days I agree with Mr. Malkmus that this is their best. Today is one of them. Tomorrow it could be "Terror Twilight".

So many memories around this album. Nirvana kicked off my alternative journey and this album kicked off my independent journey. Well, maybe this, and Exile in Guyville. This album makes me happy. It was a time in my life where I was figuring out who I was and music was such a huge part of that. It was also college, and I was working at Urban Outfitters, so all the memories there. My CD even has my name on it from taking it to Urban to play as store music. I wish I could remember how I discovered them. I probably read about them somehwere.

It's sidewalk you nonces.

Pavement - listens to Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground once. They sound like they would do heroin just because Lou Reed did. If we had to go through Pavement to inspire some shoegaze bands then fine, but there's other garage rock/alt rock artists of the era who I'd much rather listen to.

This album is lauded by music critics and is often in ‘Top Albums of All Time’ lists. It sounds a little like prototypical Strokes. It’s essentially early indie rock. And usually I’d enjoy that; I just couldn’t enjoy this. No catchy riffs, meaningless lyrics... just felt very little. FS: Summer Babe

Makes me think of Pete and Pete for some reason. Disaffected 90s shit. Love the opening track... then it's kind of downhill from there. I wanted to like this more than I did.

I can see some elements of their influence on future bands, but it’s just not a good rock album in my opinion.

Ice baby I saw your girlfriend and she was Eating her fingers, like they’re just another meal But she waits there in the levee wash Mixing’ cocktails with a plastic tipped cigar

If you live with music, you’ll have records that have the power to transport you back to your taste’s formation. This is one of mine: I’d already got into Sonic Youth and Big Black by the time I’d heard S&E, but I remember thinking that Pavement were my band, a new band, the right age to be contemporary to me rather than foundational. Today I listened to this once and was happy to find I can hum and sing almost every part on it, despite not having heard it for maybe over a decade. Despite Mark E Smith’s protestations, they always were a tunes-first band. I proved this by whistling Chesley’s Little Wrists, maybe the most cacophonous track on the album.

Excited to listen to this, my youth being largely defined by listening to emo - Pavement and Far - were bands I read about in magazines as the forefathers of my beloved genre. And yeah, for sure, I get that here in spades - the scream-singing, the speak-singing, the sloppy then tight rhythms, the gnomic titles (Jackals, False Grails: The Lonesome Era); the pretty on the nose, but also kind of fun lyrics (“I’m trying! I’m trying!”). This is the seed that bore my youth. And as such, the recipe wasn’t quite as honed, and had a lot of raw edges. I admire this for what it brought forth, but I don’t know if I’d listen again, too too much.

I feel like this should have been higher as technically it fits into my wheelhouse of noisey, sludgey rock and pop but the singers voice irritated me so much I can't score higher than 2.

Meh.

I knew Pavement going into this, but had never listened to this album. I’m glad I did I have been missing out! Pavement has that deadpan Steven Malkmus delivery that brilliantly mixes noise with very listenable songs and harmonies - a definitive example of 90s Indie slacker rock. This album has a real joy to it, not feeling over-edited or produced. How great is Stephen’s little chuckle around the two minute mark of Summer Babe? There’s a few tracks that seem a little gratuitous and I could do without, but they don’t bother me enough to even hit skip and the majority of the songs are great! Really glad to have this in my library now to bring back some of those 90s influences. Favorite tracks: Summer Babe (Winter Version), Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite at :17, In The Mouth a Desert, Zurich is Stained, Here, Two States, Perfume-V.

I can remember what my thought process was when I heard this for the first time a few years ago. How strange, how discordant, how catchy, how chaotic. For all, there are five Pavements but for a select few this first one, Slanted and Enchanted, may very well be the essential Pavement. Upon listening to this, one gets the gist of what the whole starting point was before things went somewhat off the rails (if it wasn't already off the rails). Sure they got a little more refined, maybe a little disjointed, perhaps jaded and bottomed out towards the end and, yet, none of that would have been possible if it weren't for this. Surely there was no harnessing of hopes upon this in 1992, for Slanted and Enchanted sounded as much of a one-off in its own fucked up galaxy as it could possibly become possible. But in its unconcerned disposition, it was dressed for success whether it anticipated it or not.

One of my favorites. Found it in college and have listened to the album regularly since. Always makes me want to start a band

I fucking love this album, and I loved it from the first time that I listened to it. It's the first album I think of when someone uses the term "Indie rock." It's lofi, but somehow that makes it work better. The low production quality never gets in the way of the music, but it lets the ingenuity and songwriting craft of the band shine through. I'd recommend listening to the extended version of this album (Luxe and Reduxe). 1992 was a seminal year in rock, and this album is easily one of the top 5 albums of that year 5/5

Love Pavement me. The band that influenced every decent indie band since the 90s. Their later stuff is more ‘polished’ but they absolutely nail the balance between that noise / scuzzy / slacker sound and belting tunes on this record. This is one of them perfect records for me where if a total newcomer said ‘what is indie rock?’ then I’d direct them to this. If I were putting together a supergroup, Stephen Malkmus would probably front the band. Legend.

I was introduced to Pavement by my sisters when they were \"cool teens\" (in my eyes at least 😆) and I was their baby brother. At the time, I definitely liked Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana a lot more tbh. But around high school, Pavement finally clicked for me. Particularly the album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain actually, but this one too a bit later. I think I actually understand people who hate it though, tbh. Not for everyone. If having a tongue-in-cheek slacker version of Sonic Youth sounds like something you'd be interested in, I'd recommend checking this out. It's like a 4.75 to me, definitely worthy of the slight round-up. Indie rock as we know it exists because of this album in a lot of ways... The ripples of this album are probably less noticable now, but it was rather apparent through the 00s imo. Anyway, take it or leave it or whatever lol

Such a fun album. I have such fond memories of first hearing Trigger Cut and excitedly waiting for them to first tour Australia. I missed out on tickets at first but the venue they were originally didn't get it's licence. So I ended up seeing the play 3 of the 4 nights they played Sydney. At the final show Gary Young their original drummer greeted everyone as they entered. Those nights were a confluence of love, lust, laughter and broken hearts with a healthy dose of me being a jerk. This album resonates with me because it is the perfect song track of those ne'er-do-well days

Oh, I do love Pavement. The kind of sloppy sound and indecipherable lyrics are sneakily also tuneful and brilliant. I never tire of this record.

FIVE STARS One of the coolest albums ever made in the long history of rock. Revisiting it today was a pleasure I didn't *fully* expect, since I've probably listened to it a thousand times already. But it's still working, after all these years. At first, the thin lo-fi sound caught me off-guard, after so many glossy, so called "well-produced" records on the list. But quickly, I remembered why I love this record (and this band) so much. It's smart, melodic, rough, lively, cute, wry, funny, sad, bittersweet, nonsensical, dumb and bright all at the same time. "Summer Babe", " In The Mouth A Desert", "Loretta's Scars", and "Here" are instant indie classic. Funny how, now that I know music history a little better, I can spot a few winks towards other legendary rock bands from the past. "Conduit For Sale!" draws on the Velvet's "The Murder Mystery" for instance, as someone rightly stated here in this group. But those influences don't take away Pavement's own very specific talent. Slacker genius at its best here. Harder to pull off than most people think... Number of albums left to review or just listen to:  more than 900, I've temporarily lost count here Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens:  approximately a half so far (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: a quarter Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): the last quarter But who caaaaaaares... even those rejects are somehow redeemed by Pavement's take on "success". In the end, what we all are is being like lame stand-up comedians on the stage of life, both grotesque and sublime. See the legendary opening lines of "here": "I was dressed for success / but success it never comes / And I'm the only one who laughs / at your jokes when they are so bad / And the jokes are always bad / But they're not as bad as this / Come join me in the sun..." and so on... Behind that thin layer of cynicism and the absurd, Pavement are most of all romantics, in the tradition of the Kinks and, once again, The Velvet Underground. So they deserve to be "here" with them.

I've always thought of Pavement as a darker Weezer with Nick O'Grady playing drums. I still think this is true. The problem I run into with their albums is some of the songs are terrible and require skipping. It's a great album, to me, if you can play it all the way through. This leaves something to be desired when I listen to Pavement. Crooked Rain is still my favorite album of theirs. I'll probably revisit this when I'm in the mood for some Pavement.

I’m a simple man. I see a Pavement album, I give it four stars; and whilst it’s not my favourite Pavement album, there are some great tracks on here, depsite Malkmus’ impenetrable lyrics.

Such a game changer for alternative rock. Angular and dissonant yet catchy as hell. It’s a formula that in my opinion they didn’t perfect until Crooked Rain Crooked Rain, but the raucous energy of this debut is pretty special. There are also some incredibly tender moments, with Here being an obvious highlight and contrasting with the chaos of Conduit for Sale! and Fame Throwa

Summer Babe is my favorite Pavement song, so this one is high on my list. Pavement scratches a certain itch with me. Kind of the disaffected cool kid vibe. This album led me to Stephen Malkmus' solo record and the song "Church on White," which is on my all time song list.

Bit weird, kinda like soft rocky punk, tiny bit grungey. Maybe with more listens it'd be a 3, seems like something I could get into, but I think just a 2 in reality.

I know indie rock is meant to sound homegrown/DIY/garagey/etc (or any other sly synonym for "rubbish"), but this is so laughably amateur I have to wonder how on earth it made it onto a list this "important" (term used loosely given half the other crap on it). Over 300 albums in and this would have to be the most amateur-sounding thing so far. I guess sonically it's basically a lite version of Nirvana's Bleach, but with even less(!) talent and songwriting ability. Best part is that it has guitar solos, but you can tell none of them have any idea how to stay in key or even tune a guitar, so they just used single takes and the end result is a "nah, we MEANT it to sound jarring and awful! This is our indie credo!" lie-ridden stinker. Thank you Tommy Wiseau, but no one believes you. This fucking sucked. 1/5.

This was dreadful. Seems like the music industry was quite accessible at this point. 1*

As annoying as can be!

A lot like The Fall this one. The recording is absolute shit but some classic songs underneath it. Summer Babe and Desert my favourites

I GOT A MESSAGE FOR YOU I KEEP IT IN MY IT HAND [I hand you the message, it says: Slanted and Enchanted is a 5 star record.]

Brilliant, but not quite as good as their follow up (which I had yesterday!). Still solidly 5 🌟 though - and a new favourite band for me after 2 albums in 2 days

Masterpiece—I cannot stress enough how important and influential this album was for the indie, lo-fi movement over the last thirty years. Pavement belongs to the indie altar, and this album is proof of that.

I listened to this album twice today because it’s so intriguing. Noise meets melody here culminating in something that is rough around the edges, yet has a good ear for catchy hooks. Everything here is intentional, from the wry lyrics to every dynamic shift and seemingly random noise. The result is something special and worthy of its place on the greatest albums of the 90s list.

I know Pavement but not as well as I'd like. Don't really know any of this, but I don't need to to love it, it's self-evidently great. Seems most of the songs I know are off Crooked Rain and Corners. Have always planned to do a full dive into both Pavement and Silver Jews, what better place to start than here. What the fuck happens in the middle of Fame Throws lol

Indie classic

Perfect album

AMAZING album!

This is one of those pillars in my musical DNA--its sound so seeped into everything that's come after it for me. Absolutely 5 stars.

LIES and betrayals FRUIT covered nails ELECTRICITY AND LUST!!!!

A all-time classic. Nasty, noisy and brilliant.

Brighten the Corners is one of my favorite albums and i wore it out on my cd player. this album is not that one, but i love it

Best listened to, and trust me on this, on sunny afternoons in the summer of 1992, when you're eighteen years old and about to start college, on a dodgy stereo that sometimes chews up tapes, from one side of a C90 your mate copied for you (Spacemen 3 on the other side), with the lo-fidelity set-up making it sound somehow rougher and more ramshackle and more beautiful than it already is. That said, these circumstances may not be available to you, so I should also report that I'm listening on decent headphones now, and it still sounds f***ing fantastic. (This does mean I'm going to have to give Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain 6 stars, tho.)

Apparently this is a total classic album that everybody has heard of and loves, except for me. I enjoyed it well enough, although some of it doesn't do anything for me (I can see the nostalgia factor).

A remarkable fusion of genres that i love, very great album

Not Pavement’s strongest, but still holds a special place in my heart. And you know what? I get to rate things my way!

Didn't need to listen, as these songs are pretty much imprinted on my soul. Such an amazing album by one of my all time favorite bands. 5/5

Your jokes are always bad

I really like Pavement. This album isn't as quirky or as smoothed out as some of there other albums. I enjoy raw and slightly more punk sound.

I got "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain" earlier in this list, and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed this one as well, but it feels like a way more stripped back, loose version (makes sense since it's the debut). I like the jangly, almost off-the-cuff-sounding nature of it. I can understand why people wouldn't like it, but it clicks with me. To paraphrase a favorite video game reviewer: it takes a lot of effort to look this effortless. Favorite tracks: "Here", "In The Mouth A Desert"

Hands tied, face down on the pavement, I was clearly in trouble, the game was up. A summer spent in the Cotswolds with the family sounded like the wholesome slice of recuperation I so desperately needed after another long season at Chelsea. We arrived to our hired cottage Wednesday morning, the smell of freshly mowed lawn in the air and a cool summer breeze tickling my brow. My heart was brimming with anticipation and I couldn't wait to get started. Marjorie and the girls headed down to the beach to set up camp for the day. I stayed behind as I said I needed a massive shit and didn't want them to be overpowered with my unbearable stench. Once the coast was clear, I began. I could barely contain my excitement as I unzipped my rucksack. There they were, still in their plastic wrappers. Perfect. Ready. I had always had a fondness for puppets as a child. The older and creepier the puppet, the better as far as I was concerned. I couldn't go to a Punch and Judy show without getting a raging stiffy in my shorts. Over the years my fascination grew more fierce, as did my dick. I found myself at more and more kids' birthday parties, but ultimately the questions and accusations from parents got a bit too much, so I had to force myself to stay away. I wasn't interested in their brats, it was the puppets, but who would believe me? Of course I would have the occasional lapse and find myself wanking in a nearby forest. As I peeled back the wrappers and touched the polished wooden faces for the first time, I knew these puppets were special. I came instantly. By the time I cleaned myself up I knew i had to get to the beach before the family started asking questions, especially my youngest Rhiannon, she was a real cunt like that. In my haste I must have left the front door open as I furiously headed to the beach. A mistake that would come to haunt me. After what felt like an eternity building sandcastles and paragliding, we returned home to find that our cottage had been ransacked. My sweet puppets, they were gone. My heart sank. I was inconsolable at the loss and also at the amount of sand in and around my foreskin. I left the cottage in a rage, determined to find the culprits that had ruined my life. It had been 6 hours searching park's and wastelands looking for clues when finally I saw something in the distance. It was either a dead child or to my horror, a crumpled, decapitated puppet. The knot in my stomach twisted as I approached. My biggest fear was realised. I sank to my knees. The next hour is a complete mystery to me. I must have blacked out, terrorised to my core. I awoke shaking, covered in blood and semen on a slowly rotating roundabout. My trousers were round my ankles and I was wearing no shoes ot jacket. I could hear sirens approaching rapidly. I knew I had done something bad. I ran.

Mostly painful to listen to.

That was...not great. Couldn't get into it. Abrasive even. Had to make myself listen all the way through.

So “Slanted & Enchanted” is a bit better than “Crooked Rain” – though not by much… Nothing exceptional from a creativity/originality standpoint, the musicianship is average at best, and whole the “lo-fi” sound isn’t as bad as “Crooked Rain”, but it’s still nothing to write home about… I just found this to be pretty dull all the way around TBH… I get the whole “…I just don’t give a shit vibe…” they are trying for – it’s just that they’re not all that good at it… I checked TIDAL’s highest-rated songs by Pavement, and the 2 highest from this album were the 7th “Here” & the 8th “Summer Babe” – and those are barely pedestrian efforts if you ask me, so not much to see here – move along…

Steven Malkmus and Pavement are among the first times I can recall doing a complete 180° from "how could anyone enjoy this?" to "this is so brilliant and catchy."

This is one of my top five albums of all time and another listen didn’t change that.

This album is so good. Its either a strong 4 or weak 5. It's just missing a small something to make it unforgettable. But it hits so many of the right notes, tones, lyrics, discordances, and so much more. I feel like it is deserving of a 5 and would feel wrong to give it a 4. And yet there is room for improvement. Very solid album. I wouldn't hesitate to throw it on.

I'm confused how I missed this album back in '92. I was into a lot of indie and alternative stuff so this would've been right in my wheelhouse. I'm on my 3rd listen and it just gets better. Raw, unpolished and thoroughly enjoyable. Not a single bite has been taken of the commercial apple.

I really really like Pavement. 4.5+ from me. I still think Crooked Rain is more my favorite, but this is still right in my top albums.

Perfect album. The tone goes from raw to polished. The lyrics and vocals go from dramatic to whimsical. There's noise and dissonance but it doesn't overwhelm. Everything feels effortless while also feeling meticulously constructed. It's all about contradictions. This is definitely one of the albums on the Mt Rushmore of modern indie music. It influenced everyone, but somehow I can't think of another band that sounds anything like Pavement.

Best tracks: Trigger Cut, Conduit For Sale!

J'adore le côté grunge et bordélique de Pavement ! C'est pas mon album préfèré d'eux mais il reste très bien. 4,5/5

Yaaaay Scottish blogger who won‘t be named

I’ve listened to enough Time Crisis to be receptive to Pavement, but this is the album that finally clicked for me. There’s a dry emotion that meshes with the guitar tone and really lets you swim in the banal. I love it.

My introduction to Pavement in the early 90s and one that I regularly go back to still.

to pimp a butterfly

Remek djelo. Jebeno obožavam ovaj album

We've had a few great albums in a row, I can't wait to see what's next. Hopefully no more Massive Attack or Everything but the Girl.

Really good, especially in songs like ‘Summer Babe’ and ‘Here’. I like this type of indie a lot, and it’s done well here, even if some songs aren’t as good.

A cool record that I found way too late. I’m happy that someone showed it to me.

I liked this a lot!!! First album in this process that I didn't know but still saved because I want to listen to again!!

a perfect representation of its time and generation. Great listen!

On another list. Awesome record.

Really good. I don't know how or why I haven't listened to this band before. Reminds me of early days Modest Mouse. I know they site Placement as an influence and yeah you can really hear it. I will try to make up for lost time and catch up.

holy shit what a great name for a band, the fuckin Pavement. i like this type of catchy melodie noise rock, its even funny, like the breaking of a vase or something in a museum. conduit for sale and zurich is stained are almost velvet underground songs. the first one is like those talked songs by VU and the second one sounds exactly like Lou Reed.

Those “etch or sketch” guys made a damn good Lou reed cover album

"Summer Babe," "Trigger Cut," "Two States," some of the greatest and most moving music of the decade

The best Pavement album. They were never the same without Gary Young. Very warm sound and reminiscent of The Fall. Indie rock classic.

Älskar denna skiva... jag älskar låtarna, stämningen, hur de spelar, hur härligt slarvigt allt är, alla lyrics som fastnar i huvudet som maskar...

Raw young contemporaries to Nirvana, and it shows on this record. I love it.

really enjoyed the album and the spotify radio that came out of it

The best album by the best band in the 90’s alt rock movement

Compared to the other Pavement album in the list, I enjoyed this immensely. Great stuff.

PREFS : Summer Babe (Winter Version), Trigger Cut/Wounded Kite at :17, No Life Singed Her, In the Mouth a Desert, Conduit For Sale!, Zurich is Stained, Loretta's Scars, Here, Two States, Perfume-V, Fame Throwa, Jackals, False Grails: The Lonesome Era MOINS PREF : Chesley's Little Wrists

Cracking album, really nice raw 90s indie sound to it

I was dimly aware of Pavement, somewhere between an American version of The Fall and The Velvet Underground. Some of the songs here could have been on a Fall album without seeming out of place at all, which is a good thing in my personal opinion. As the album progressed I heard echoes of The Pixies, even a little shoegaze here and there. Really enjoyed this.

Great album that still sounds fresh today.

Great songs, good flow. Pavement at its best.

I wasn't familiar with Pavement until long after their time had passed, but in retrospect they were probably one of my favorite bands' favorite bands. This album is insanely good, and has held up really well over time.

Such a great album. This is one that I revist often and will continue to do so. Noisy, lo-fi, punk-ish, and great.

love this

Listening to Pavement is something I feel like I should have done long ago, but never did, so I welcomed this. Did they just become my new favourite band? Nah, but I'm really digging this and will put it on again. Scrolling through my history and rating policy, this has to be at least scratching the 5 and seeing how it triggered Markuhh E. Smithuuuh to clumsily claim a trademark on talk-singing makes it all the better.

A unique 90s indie rock band like no other, following up on the success of noise rock bands like Dinosaur Jr, cranking up the distortion and lazy vibes yet still being insanely catchy and groovy. Malkmus has one of the most distinct and versatile vocals and isn't afraid to show his talents in this record, from loud screaming to the softest most sincere speech. It's a hugely experimental album. You have your pop hits dispersed throughout, like "Summer Babe", "Zurich is Stained", and "Here", but most of the tracks are just wild ideas of what you could do with the noise pop genre, and yet it all works. I admit it may take some time to get used to it due to how abrasive it is. I've listened to this album countless times over the past two years. It's wild and fun and at no point did I feel bored. It has an entrancing, fitting intro and outro to pull in audiences and leave them satisfied. The songs are coherent, with reoccurring motifs such as the variation on the formula between "Fame Throwa" and "Jackals." This album is clearly not for everyone. It's a hard sound to get used to, but I'm glad I acquired it. I remember playing this album on a 4-hour ride back home, and the driver had to wake me up to change it cause it was too atonal and distracting him. If you like this, check out the rest of their discography. Often I listen to an album and think of it as the best of what the artist has to offer. But in this case, it's a sign of things to come.

amazing album

Superb. L

Great band great album