Slanted And Enchanted

Indie classic

This is okay, but everything begins to sound the same after a few songs.It's like listening to a playlist where the melodies blur into one another, leaving me with a lingering sense of monotony. The artists, each talented in their own right, seem to fall into the same patterns, reusing chords and hooks that, while catchy, lose their charm after the third or fourth track. It's as if the magic of diversity gets drowned out by the repetitive beats and lyrical themes. I find myself longing for something unexpected, a song that breaks the mold, that challenges the ear with a fresh perspective or an innovative sound. Sure, there are moments of brilliance amid the familiarity, but they’re often overshadowed by the overwhelming sense of déjà vu. I crave the thrill of being surprised, of feeling that rush of discovery when a song takes an unexpected turn or introduces a rare, bold harmony. After all, music is a vast universe, and it feels like too many artists are orbiting the same sun when they could be exploring entirely different galaxies. I want to encounter rhythms that dance off the beaten path, lyrics that provoke thought, and arrangements that keep me on my toes. Let there be experimentation, let there be quirks! In a world where creativity knows no bounds, it's disheartening to hear echoes of the same ideas, rather than a vibrant tapestry of inspiration.

Fuck yea, Pavement rules. Great record as is everything they've done.

Second classic US 90s alt-rock album in a row. Unfortunately that’s one of my least favourite genres, and this didn’t do it for me at all. I know the mumbly low in the mix vocals is kind of part of the overall vibe (also see Smashing Pumpkins etc) but it really doesn’t work for me. Never mind, onto the next!

I'm not sure if this band is considered influential, and that's why they were included? The sound is very raw, like nobody involved knew how to mix tracks and clean things up. Maybe they're influential? But it wasn't for me. I'll be nice and give it a 2, but I would say 1.5 at best. Woof.

I’ve heard some of their other stuff during high school. They’re not bad!

Some decent indie music. My first time hearing Pavement. I would check out more in the future.

Pretty classic them. Good sound, fun music, but not exactly the most technically inspiring stuff.

Started off ok and slowly got worse. Second half was weak. One and done.

um puta álbum de estréia, muito bom mesmo (talvez eu esteja vestindo minha camisa do pavement nesse momento)

AEEEEEEEE PORRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 5 estrelas mais fácil da vida. in the mouth a desert, summer babe e zürich is stained levam 15 estrelas, o resto é brinde de altíssima qualidade. no mais, é uma banda bem importante pra mim e pro indie rock como um todo. um clássico!!

This is brilliant. After struggling with 'Crooked Rain', I questioned my previous enjoyment, but this bought me right back. Great song writing and delivery. I'll keep coming back to this one...

The songs on this album are just short of being very good.

Old and new at the same time

Listening to this album now I was struck by how much it sounded like Weezer. Then I read that 'Weezer is Pavement for people who like Elton John instead of David Bowie', which I can't entirely disagree with. Either way, this album was groundbreaking. And still sounds remarkably fresh after 35 years!?

3. So meh

Early 90’s music was a movement. Lyrics heavy with allegory and emotion. Unique and exceptional vocal styles like Shannon Hoon, Eddie Vedder, Curt Cobain, and Layne Staley. Incredible bands were plentiful but Pavement wasn’t one of them. Slanted and Enchanted sounds manufactured. There’s no energy, no soul, no pulse. The vocals are dreadful, the lyrics are nonsense, the band is just ok.

I love Pavement.

indie

“Ladies and gentlemen please welcome Cake! With guest vocalist, Lou Reed!”

Each track started really positively with driving guitars and a nice clean production. And then the vocals entered - yikes! No offence but if someone recommends an album or a band, I would expect the vocals to be at least competent. Great drum sound, mind you.

Maybe a sidewalk? Noisey niceness.

I felt like I should have liked this more than i did on the first listen. It's not that I didn't enjoy it, rather that it just didn't seem to stand out or leave a lasting impression despite theoretically being right up my street. I gave it another listen and then it all seemed to fall into place, lots to enjoy here

To quote my grandmother, "What's this? It just sounds like noise; it's not music." When I say grandmother I do not mean wife.

I hadn't heard this before, on first listen it's fairly generic early 90s American indie shoegaze grunge rock. It's listenable enough, but no earworms.

1992 called and it misses you very much. It wants to get high on the thrift store couch and watch Bob Ross at lunchtime on a Tuesday.

A landmark album for indie rock and just banger after banger.

Hade kunnat vara en fyra i ett annat universum.

Stockton strong! If you've ever been there--or passed through--Pavement makes perfect sense. So Nirvana was 1991, opening the doors for all kind of tries and this is a helluva try. Diamond Sharp words? Oooo ooooh ooooh, yep that's working for me. They call it lo-fi--I call it a start at ditching overproduced, overengineered, overaudience-tested pop sameness. Soon we get Beck and Car Seat Headrest. Relistening now I'm delighted at how distinct each song comes off. There's a lot going on. A lot. Oh and many thanks to Scottymac for my first Pavement tape.

This had me very conflicted. In one way it was everything I should like, but that’s because it seemed to rip off everything I do like. They seem to be trying a little too hard to be the Velvet Underground. I remember them from back in the day, but I don’t think they ever completely grabbed me. They feel too derivative to score highly but there was nothing I objected to. It should be a 2.5 but for the fact that I wasn’t pulling my hair out and actually had to listen a second time which wasn’t a chore.

Oy. Music made for me not to relate to. I don't hear whatever it is that makes people think this is any good. It's poorly recorded, not very well played, and they sound as bored playing it as I am listening to it. And we get their follow up to this as well. Great.

I wasn't sure how well this one would age as it's been a few decades since I listened to it. But man, it was like catching up with an old friend and picking up the conversation right where we left off. This is one of those bands where they just see things differently. Like, I thought I knew how music worked, but then I hear a song like Fame Throwa and I realize I know nothing. Pavement songs just operate by their own rules. Same with their lyrics. Even when I can understand what he's saying, I'm still not sure what he's saying. And yet I remembered every damn line of this thing. Some guys just have that knack. I know their slacker attitude might be off-putting for many, but there's something about it that works for me. This was highly influential for me, so I can't give it anything less than a 5. But I'm glad it still slaps, so that 5 isn't just nostalgia speaking. (Marianne, this is about as "Scott" an album as there is.)

A musical journey in the wayback machine to the early 90s! I feared this was gonna be heavier than what I heard. I enjoyed this.

Wild, simple

Great debut for this band that defined the 90's for me. Just a little bit sloppy but still hard-hitting. These guys tried to make us believe that they didn't care, but nobody this disinterested would be able to write such awesome songs.

A slacker's review for a slacker's album.

How to be slacker and melodic, how to be poetic and apathetic. I love how these guys can be so powerful while sounding like they don't care about anything.

Reminds me of the Fall but way better.

Oh the loveliness of lo-fi. This is fun and fuzzy, but not as strong overall as the Crooked Rainx2. “Here” might be the most authentic (i.e., non-ironic) song they ever did and – what a surprise – it works. "Summer Babe" and "Zurich is Stained" are also quite strong. "Fame Throwa" is epic and askew. As ever with this lot, full marks for originality and doing their own things though one's always wished that they mighta tried just a little harder or played it a little straighter (not trying to be the coolest dudes in the room) or not been so slacker, so hopelessly whatever about their business.

I put Pavement in my “must listen to but ain’t had time’ category. First came to my notice by chance when I randomly turned on some Glastonbury coverage and Pavement were playing. The song they were playing was brilliant but I never caught the title. I made it my ambition to find out what that song was but so far failed. So I wondered if today’s listen would finally reveal this song to me. Thing is it’s getting on now from this Glastonbury outing and with it been a live rendition and all, I’m not sure if I would recognise this lost song even if it hit me between my peepy’s. But I did listen today in this forlorn hope the song was on this album. Afraid not was my final conclusion. In fact the whole experience was unfortunately a bit of a trudge. Not desperately bad but to my ears it was too much of a grunge fest. As this was their first album perhaps that is how Pavement started and they matured into the band responsible for the sound I’m seeking from them. This album did not fire me up to carry on and identify the elusive song but at least I can confidently cross one off Pavement’s complete canon. 2.5/5 13/2/25

It is definitely in the wheelhouse of things that I would listen to, but it seems like Sonic Youth lite. I have heard them off and on through the years but never anything made me want to buy an album. Always think of their cover of No More Kings from the Schoolhouse Rock ROCKS album whenever I hear them.

I feel like I should like them a little bit more? I don’t know. Maybe I’d need a second listen to really appreciate it, but I don’t wanna.

ahj ezt annyira untam, hogy nincs kedvem kétszer meghallgatni, pedig ennyi esélyt majdnem mindegyik albumnak adok.

Excellence. I know they pretend to play it sloppy but this is precision songwriting and finely crafted musicianship. One of their best

You know, I feel like it's been a hot while since I got an indie rock album that actually belongs on this list. From my estimate, it's been about a month. Fortunately, Pavement has got my back with their 1992 debut, Slanted and Enchanted. This album's pretty good! I don't really have any major complaints here. The singing isn't spectacular or anything, but it fits the vibe pretty well. The instrumentation is nice. It's got a pretty lo-fi production to it while still being enjoyable to listen to. The album has some pretty good songs on it. "Summer Babe" is a pretty good opener. "Zurich is Stained" is a great representation of this album at large. "Here" is just a really nice song. The pacing is solid, there's some nice variety, and the writing is good. This is a strong debut. Apparently, the other Pavement album on the list, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, is better than this one, so I'm pretty excited to hear that eventually. I'll give this one a 4/5.

I liked it. Kind of a cross between Lou Reed and the Kinks

Okay, next…

Good! Favorite tracks: - Two States - Perfume-V

Fun album to listen to, and also really interesting to look at geographically: Pavement is a Cali band, but there's a lot of influence from Lou Reed and Velvet Underground vocally. There's also some songs that sound like James Murphy. Cool listen just based on influence.

Not bad background music. Fairly good beat. Nothing on the album caught my ear, as the vocals were lacking.

I first heard of pavement from a Chuck Klosterman article in GQ that I read on a plane around 2005 sometime so naturally I really wanted to like them but they’ve always been more of a greatest hits band for me than a full album listen. That being said, I appreciated this album more on this listen. Still up and down but 5 or 6 really good songs. Another 3-4 tweeter for me but I’ll round up out of respect to Chuck.

4.0 I think this one is a bit critically over-rated, but not saying I dont like it. I feel their song writing gets better in subsequent albums and solo work but this one does have a unique rawness to it

I was in collage again and rooming with people I haven't seen in decades I think a couple are dead now. I was trying to separate playing cards from gaming cards that were for a class. I was also try I ng to remember, y schedule and where my classes were. Next to me was a bag of Wendy's and the fries were cold but the burger was warm. I took a bite of the burger and asked if someone brought this bag of food this morning but I felt it was impossible because everyone was asleep just ,omens ago. A girl who I knew but don't remember says I wouldn't eat that.

Grew on me a lot on second listen, it's actually very weird and very good!

Eh, It was ok. It's not bad or anything, just isn't my jam.

Pavement are the coolest

In my country Pavement were one hit wonders with the song Cut Your Hair in the late 90's. Never having heard anything else by them I was curious to hear what they had to offer with this album. After listening it's fairly obvious why they only had the single hit, as there is nothing here with the hooks or catchiness that I was expecting. (Although some bits come close to that greatness, In The Mouth A Desert for example.) I guess they were pioneers of this sound, although I'm not sure tbh. This is a decent album but I wouldn't say amazing.

Pavement is well played but I'm just not that big on the vocals or the lyrics. I do enjoy how it's played though. 3-3.5

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Don’t judge a book by its cover

I thought this was a decent album. I give it a 3

Very angry.

Jeg gad godt høre et pavement men en anden sanger, for ham her er for mumlende, og stenet desværre.

Skramlet, distorted Lo-Fi rock lyd med en sanger der lyder som om han knap nok gider synger. Love it ❤️

Quintessential indie band. Their next album was better though

I knew of Pavement, but I'd never listened to them. Love the sort of ramshackle sound, which does remind me of early The Fall music (though I don't concur with Mark E. Smith's claim they are a rip-off). This is great stuff and I think I'll add it to my library.

Favorite Track: None

About half way through, it seems a bit the strokes and sonic youth. Decent grunge

This is fine. There is a demographic for this kind of rock and I was friends with that demographic, but never a part of it. It never bothers me to hear when I'm passing through but it's never feels as clever as they think they are.

I listened to this a few times. On paper I feel like I should be a Pavement fan. I like Dino Jr, Modest Mouse, Silver Jews, Elliott Smith, and others that seem to be in the same pool, but I just don't really care about them. For some reason they strike me as shallow. Like they try to hard to make it seem like they don't care. Idk I guess my gut is judgmental about them. I'm positive they don't care if I'm a fan or not. Is that really the correct spelling of judgmental? dgm

Eh, not much exciting here. I kind of liked the more raw sound, but there wasn't anything that really caught my attention. 2.5/5

I don’t have the maturity for this. It’s just noise. People grow to love Bleu cheese in a similar way to how they learn to love this. I find it over fragrant and enducing of uneasy feelings.

Inget vidare. 2/10

3.9/5

Not a massive fan of indie rock, this album kinda explains that The guitar tone I quite like and some of the riffs are decent, but that's about all she wrote for the positives Everything else is pretty shite, especially the vocals. Oh my fucking God they suck so bad it's like he's singing in the shower. At least act like you want to be there I was gonna give it a 2 but it gives me the same wincing, grim feeling the rest of the albums I've rated 1 give me

Interesting sounds but often clashing chords. Only about one truly good song on the album.

Interesting to hear some early grunge. Seems like a proto Nirvana or local H type vibe.

Another background vibe

This is one of my favorite albums, love seeing it here! I think their next album, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, is even better. But this one’s great. The ultimate in slacker millennial vibes. Somehow both disaffected and emotional. That’s the nineties paradox, the coolest thing is not to care, so you try to project that image while deep down you’re in a turmoil. While being their debut, Slanted and Enchanted fully embodies the Pavement sound. Guitars are distorted but somehow not fully in your face. Orchestration is noisy but very spacious. Catchy melodies are sometimes obscured by this general sloppy feeling. This airy sloppy feeling is part of what keeps the songs fresh and varied. Pavement is unpolished and loose, and that makes it feel more honest and personal. They’re not giving you a polished rock star show, but a draft of their feelings. Sometimes it sounds downright silly or unprofessional, shouldn’t they have re-recorded this guitar part? Does the backing vocals really make sense (“shalalala”s on Trigger Cut)? It doesn’t matter, it’s all part of the package. Styling aside, this is also just a collection or very good songs. A lot of music in this genre tends to be overly introspective and sophisticated but Pavement are just fun. This is just fun to listen to. Four stars because I like Crooked Rain better.

Why is this album on this list?

I actually liked 120 Minutes.

4.5 cracking album

First song is pretty good. Most of the songs were pretty mid. In the Mouth a Desert was pretty good as well. Here is definitely my favorite song, honestly 5/5 for the genre and album. Jackals, False Grails: The Lonesome Era is also pretty good. One chorus with only 12 lines, but really subtle and really good instrumental by itself, 4/5. Our singer is pretty much as close as you can get to a perfect ending to an album. I really want to give this a 4/5, but I can't because of how forgettable some of the songs are, so 3/5 is where it is.

The album starts off with a pretty basic hook. Conduit For Sale! really caught my attention in this album for its uniqueness amongst the other songs and for that I’d give it a 5/5

Tråkig och saknar finess.

This is so 1990's it made me a bit nostalgic for my teenage years but also reminded me how bad our taste was back then. This sounds just like the garage bands that you asked to play your 15th birthday party at the youth center, that gig being the highlight of their musical career... One extra star for the nostalgia, but this is honestly just bad.

Interesting, great in places, good in others. I think 4 is a fair number for my enjoyment, as I prefer Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, but this was good too! :)

Lo-fi 90s indie slacker rock with a rough, unpolished sound. Not immediately to my tastes, and it grew on me a little but not by a lot. I knew the song "Here" from a cover by Soccer Mommy, and that was (consequently) my favorite track off the album.

4.5

Enjoyed it

Not for me.

I always thought I’d enjoy pavement if I gave them a proper go, and I was right, I do.

My first listen to this album. If I was coming of age when this album came out, it definitely would have been on heavy rotation. Listening to it for the first time, as an adult, it's harder to appreciate the raw jangly, discord, but there are some great songs here. Standouts: In the Mouth a Desert, Perfume-V and Fame Throwa.

I like Pavement alright. No surprises here, I didn't love it, but thought it was some solid music.

3/5

The first half was boring, forgettable, and uninspired. I enjoyed the second half more but overall the album was mediocre. Their description on Spotify calls Pavement the "defining American indie rock band of the 90s" which is a hilariously bold claim after such an ordinary album. Favorites: Conduit for Sale, Zurich Is Stained, Two States

I can see this being inspiring for people but not really my cup of tea

fuck yeah pavement

Punkig irgendwie auch innovativ, aber nicht so meins

Fairly generic indie rock.

Moody, scream, proto-grunge, proto-shoegaze, slacker indie rock with violently distorted guitars - not for me, but I can totally see how this would be a million teenagers' music that speaks to their rebellious streak. However, being nearly 40 upon my first listen, I can't say it connected.

During the early 90's, Green Day and Nirvana were the bands that broke through to the mainstream from alternative, punk or whatever genre they'd be categorized in to produce quite the phenomenon, huge media exposure and lasting legacies, but to me one of the most important bands to come out of the 90's was Pavement. They stayed on the edge of alternative (or indie or college-rock), but stayed true to not fully "selling out" with some rather odd, but unique albums during their first run career (10 years) and have reformed to play to larger audiences and a renewed interest in their music. Clearly, front-man-singer-songwriter, Stephen Malkmus is the creative genius behind the band and his solo albums after Pavement attest to his talent. The debut, Slanted And Enchanted is their best album, it has it's flaws and it's uneven, but it gets more interesting and fascinating with every listen. It's not the greatest album of the 90's, but it sure beats anything Green Day released after Dookie.

Another example of MTV grunge. Empty, loud Frat Rock. No soul, no bite. Just Midwest college drinking crap. There were at least 10 bands at the time that all sounded exactly like this, and they all sucked.

Somewhere in between The Melvins and The Pixies with their own spin on things. Pavement is really good music in a greater scope of 1990's schlop (cough* grunge). Weird and disturbing enough to spark curiosity, artistic enough to facillitate taste, and the production value added makes it very listenable with pop tonalities making punk pretty digestable.

Indie Rock, Yay!

Albumi #138, 18.12.2024 Pavementin debyyttialbumi on mainio teos

Pretty cool but many of the songs were a bit noisy and didn't hit as much for me.

Great but the fillers are too quirky. I bet they never played them live.

Forsangeren synger ikke godt haha. Der er lidt RATM vibes over det, men mangler energien synes jeg. Har svært ved at se hvordan det rigtigt slår i gennem som hardcore punk, og lyder ikke overhovedet godt nok til at være pop-punk eller lignende.

Never liked Pavement. The singer's voice is awful. The music is mediocre at best.

3 stars

So I completely thought Pavement was somebody else. I'd never heard this before, and it's just OK for me. I guess a 3 so far listening about 1/2 through the album. Nothing has really grabbed my attention yet. Loretta's Scars is alright "Here" sounds a lot like Lou Reed to me Jackals, False Grails is alright I think this is a 3 for me.

The vocals are lazy and out of tune. The guitars are out of tune. The arrangements are uninteresting. 1 star.

i think i need some more time with this one 3.5

Decent 90’s alt that I hadn’t heard before. If you don’t like 90’s alt, you probably won’t like this. But if that is your style this is definitely worth a listen.

Ok

Musicalement plutôt bon, un son de guitare assez cool, de bonnes mélodies, pas mal d’idées dans les structures des chansons, une certaine forme de rock indé se met en place, mais j’ai plus de mal avec la voix du chanteur qui donne un côté un peu amateur à l’ensemble. Les instruments font monter la sauce et puis paf, le mec commence à chanter et d’un coup ça retombe d’un cran. Dommage. Et je ne suis pas sûr d’ajouter des titres dans ma rotation, même après plusieurs écoutes, peut être “Conduit for sale!” qui se démarque forcément puisqu’il hurle la même phrase en boucle pendant la moitié de la chanson, ou “Loretta’s Scars” qui fonctionne pas mal, “Here” ballade visiblement désabusée. Ça aurait pu me plaire plus. J’y viendrais peut-être un jour alors je mets un 4 préventif.

"Slanted and Enchanted" is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Pavement. The Wiki-listed genres are Indie rock, lo-fi and noise pop. Boy, that sounds familiar but rightfully fits. The album was self-produced under the Metador Rrcords label. It was also the last album with drummer Gary Young who was fired for various antics. Other members included Stephen Malkmus (lead vocals, lead & rhythm guitar) and Scott Kannberg (bass, lead & rhythm guitar, backing and lead vocals). The album is critically highly regarded. Commercially, it hit #72 in the UK and did not chart in the US. An edgy guitar, plodding bass and tinny drums open "Summer Babe (Winter Version)." This is very lo-fi but melodic with the underlying guitar. Marlkmus' vocals are all over the place as he spends all summer trying to get the girl. Definitely, a slacker anthem. The album takes a darker turn with "Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite at :17." Faster pace, darker guitar. Malkmus almost has an emotionless voice as he deals with depression and how to get out of it. "In the Mouth a Desert" starts with soft guitar strings and chimes. It builds with drums, bass and a grungy guitar. An absolute killer melodic guitar bridge. Most bands will never come near creating something as good as that. He wants to escape empty pleasures. One of my favorite songs of the 90's. Malkmus struggles with appearance versus substance in "Here." Highly guitar keys. Subdued vocals. Softer. Slower. The album ends with "Our Singer." Guitar slashes and chords. He's dreaming of a girl but can't make the first move. The randomizer didn't hesitate giving me two lo-fi classics back to back. The underlying melodies and hooks are the things that separates this album. Malkmus' lyrics are very Gen X and slacker at the surface. Once you dig a little deeper he gets pretty deep, sometimes historical or tongue-in-cheek. No definitive answers. I don't know if I was onboard with this album on first listen but have grown to realize its brilliance. A 90's classic.

listening w/o headphones summer babe: too noisy? distorted? nothing special starting to think i don't vibe w this band trigger cut: also doesn't stick maybe punk rock isn't my thing wait this album is critically acclaimed .. i'll put on my headphones then try one more song i guess i'm more of a melody person perfume-V interesting "of lime/no church" panning (i think it's called that) his voice sounds off-key to me overall not my style of music

Something new for me. Partly really good. Partly a bit boring. But in total ok.

I think I would have really liked this in a different time of my life or some other context. It reminded me of other stuff I liked in the past.

Not bad but I much prefer Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain.

I want to like this more than I do. I used to listen to all the indie stuff back in the day. This really does nothing for me though. His voice is awful and the whole thing is lacking in melody. I don’t get it

Wasn't feeling it at the moment, may give it another listen another time.

Back half of the album is much better than front, but it is still mostly tired slacker rock.

Sonic Youth hvis de havde Lou Reed som sanger (positivt)

Pavement satte virkelig en urimeligt høj standard for kaotisk scatterbrained 90er-rock her, der er så mange bands der har prøvet og katastrofisk fejlet i at lave ca den her plade. Men den her plade er perfekt, wouldn't change a thing, faktisk bedre end jeg huskede den. De fleste af de her tekster lyder som stoned shower thoughts. Two states! We waaant two states! North & south! Twoooo-- two states

Original songs! I love it when the vocals just blends into the background on some of the songs, when the guitars gets louder and noisier

It was ok

Kinda kooky alt rock/punk, Steven Malkmus has a distinctive voice. I really tried to get into Pavement multiple times and they are just alright for me.

Fuck you

Trigger cut a stand out - listened to a few times and it became better and better each time

Listening to this again was like a breath of Fresh air. It has been years since I last listened to it in full. it starts at 100 miles per hour and just never stops. 40 minutes of pure guitar driven addrenallin

Not enjoyable, the singer cannot sing.

Although it´s one of my prefered gengres, the album neither convinces me musically nor especially vocally. 🤷‍♂️ favourite: "Trigger Cut" 2,5

Pretty good. I honestly don't understand why it was seen as such an important album based on the content itself, although maybe it inspired many others.

#69 Nah. Did not like the vocals or really anything.

good sidewalk music. music for sidewalks

As boring as it can get. That is alternative rock? Yes, that was it. The label for mediocre artists with mediocre material ( badly performed on … did they use equipment?)

I like this. A lot of lyrics. A lot of interesting images. I feel the thought processes. It's quite absorbing - a book of an album. I feel it's like wearing all your favourite clothes and not caring how you look ... because, why would you? A bit Elliott Smith. A bit Nirvana. And Pixies. A shabby scarf to wear with everything. The power of grunge is its ability to shine in muted colours. I shall return to this.

A toned down version of The Pixies with the sharp edges, excitement, weirdness and coolness removed. And without those fantastic guitars. Sorry 😞

Wannabe Kurt Cobains

Mostly throwaway trashy vaguely grungey 90s rock, but it had its moments. Zürich Is Stained and Loretta’s Scars were really good. Sort of like Pixies or Smashing Pumpkins but with less oomph and madness.

An album I own but not listened to for many years so intrigued to revisit it as apart from the first two songs I couldn’t recall what the rest of it was like. Summer Babe is still as good as I remember and Trigger Cut was also one of my favourites back in the day and that was still good. I had suspected that maybe the rest of the album didn’t hold up as well but I was pleasantly surprised how many of the other songs I also enjoyed now. Ok so a lot of the songs followed a similar vibe but I found my toes tapping to quite a few. Definitely going to listen to this again before too long. Probably a 3.75 rating so rounded up to a 4.

1992 - what a year, so much top music, and happy memories from my youth. Pavement are a great band with their unique lo-fi, laidback style. Later albums would refine their sound, but this album showcases their raw energy. Top tracks are Summer Babe, Trigger Cut, Here, and Perfume V, but some other great tunes throughout. All hail the 90s!

I was never a big fan when Pavement first hit the scene. I have revisited on occasion since, and Malkmus did quite a nice folky solo thing fairly recently. But ultimately while there is a certain charm to Pavement, I don’t fall head over heels in love with their sort of slacker sonic youth esque sound. Same applies for this album. Maybe 3 tracks grabbed me, Perfume-V was cool, but otherwise it’s not that interesting. It did make me want to wear a checked shirt though, so that’s something.

Only recent grown to appreciate Pavement. Chose to diss them in the 90s to wind up a mate. What a fool I was. Takes me straight back to the 90s and lo-fi US rock is my thing. Still can't give them a 5 though.

A lot of this just went nowhere. No hooks, melody, nothing memorable. Jangly noise with someone talking. I can see the influence but the honed version other bands and even other pavement albums put out were better.

Meh

Classic grunge punk.

I am not sure I had ever heard of Pavement but the whole surf rock vibe is among my favorites. Odd how this is imperfect, his vocals waver, things get a bit off track, but somehow it all works. I pretty much knew I was sold on it before the mid-point of the first song. I find it an oddity that I had never been exposed to them before, but so be it, another one for the playlist! There is a lesson to be learned from Pavement. Especially today (but not due to some flaw in today's artists!!) but auto-tune, sound machines, amazing advances in technology, all contribute to the over-perfection of music often. It is OK for music to be a bit more raw, it makes it that much more real. I think that is very appealing here.

This almost felt like more of a Pavement album than the big ones.

Debut Pavement contains many of their best songs including Here which has a great Tindersticks cover.

Not for me.

Very strong but not yet fully accomplished debut

I know these guys are important in 90s indie rock (and I liked their other album) , but this was just down the line for me. Nothing amazing.

I’m not sure what this album was trying to be, it had a few good moments but ultimately felt like a mess.

I feel like Pavement is one of those bands that nerds rave about. From my vague recollections, this is their big album, and I actually really dig it. Nothing really crazy or groundbreaking about it, but just good solid rock. I saved quite a few and would definitely return to this, there's absolutely something to it. Favorite tracks: Summer Babe, In the Mouth a Desert, Zurich is Stained, Loretta's Scars, Fame Throwa. Album art: Definitely iconic, seen this one hundreds of times. A curved set of piano keys, plus some alarming script of the band and album name, seems like graffiti written by someone about to die. 4/5

Not bad. Some of the songs were pretty good.

I feel like I’m listening to them live and they are warming up, in particular the lead singer. I don’t like his voice. They should re-record the album with a different singer.

We barely needed one Pavement album, and the other one is better than this. It drones on and gets a little repetitive toward the end.

Early 1990's grungy rock sound: Check. Cake cover band status: Check. Apologies to Cake: Check.

Honestly had me jamming a bit at times

Not my thing

Not bad for early Indie

What an odd and somewhat creepy album!

Whirry, distortion ladden lo-fi 90's indy stuff from NorCal. Straight up college nostalgia for me but I get it; this sound is not for everyone. For better or worse, this is my generation.

I always want to like Pavement. And then I listen to them, and never wind up enchanted. Most of the time I just don’t get the appeal of lo-fi rock. “Let’s make it sound lousy and muddled on purpose!” Apparently Paul McCartney is to blame? Just learned that from his debut solo album. It’s weird, though, because modern lo-fi music is chill and relaxed and made on computers so it doesn’t sound like it was recorded underwater or in a closet.

There is something so comforting about early 90s lo-fi, indie rock. It's fuzzy like your most favorite sweater.

The weight feels good, heavy. Although both the energy and vocals are mid.

I enjoy these kinds of instrumentals, but the lead vocalist is a very bad singer. Not bad as in I don't like his style, but bad as in literally missing notes or falling off of them.

pavement were my favourite band in jr high so this was fun

It sounds cool it's just that there's not a whole lot of substance here. Very raw.

don’t mess around in the stockton hood 😡

1/2

I can see why people love this album and it should be one that I really enjoyed but I didn't. I don't know why but it just didn't hit the spot for me. Think it may be my age as am sure I would have loved this if I had bought it when it was released, I was 20 then 52 now.

One of my favourite lo-fi bands. Not the "Chill Beats to Relax To" kind. This is my second time listening to this album in full. I liked it as much as I did the first time. "Loretta's Scars" is my favourite song on the album. 4 stars for "Slanted and Enchanted".

Decent indie, not super catchy

Screamy and angry, but I liked it...

A garage rock indie band who I would not give a second thought to if I heard them playing in a local bar. Vocals especially are lazy and toneless, songs don't seem to have any structure. This would definitely fail the Old Grey Whistle Test. I considered giving this 1 star, but I think I have to reserve that for albums I actively dislike. This irritated me but I was mostly apathetic. The title of the album is pretty good.

Dated and overrated. Stale and pale.

Favourite track: In The Mouth A Desert.

I liked this a lot. It felt like a lot of future bands I like could have been influenced by this sound.

naja, wirkt auf mich etwas lustlos

If every song on this album was "Conduit for Sale!", this would be five starts. Regardless, essential listening for any 90's kid.

I don't think that this album was that great, it was at most very mid, nothing really happened, but I guess it was alright for a background listen, and it was also nice that it was a fairly short one, so it went by relatively quickly. I would give it three stars but it didn't catch my excitement from the beginning.

Ok I see where Weezer got their ideas… Honestly the last 20 albums must have averaged 2 stars. I might be kinder in other circumstances but this is an easy 2 for me, again.

Had never heard of Pavement before. Album was interesting- kind of at the confluence of alt rock and post punk. Found myself enjoying it at parts, but mostly unremarkable. Having a hard time even remembering what I liked / didnt like

A great example of early 90s indi alternative. This is a good album with a few good innovative songs on it. I'm giving this a 3 as it may not be accessible to some due to its raw nature. A personal favorite of mine tho.

Not quite my style but I still liked some of it!

Vocalist is in the wrong key and sounds like he's falling asleep. Production is incredibly cheesy - like what a 14 year-old thinks rock should sound like. Drummer is just drumming random time signatures. Low-effort nonsense.

This was awful. Sonically there was some cool ideas but it was brought down by the incessant droning that they tried to pass off as singing. The few times there was an attempt at singing may have been even worse than the talking. Not even autotune could help this guy

Sound quality not great through Spotify

Some bum songs scattered in here, but I enjoyed it overall 4 ⭐️

I fudge with it. I remember thinking Crooked Rain I would probably enjoy if I listened again, so instead got a different album from them and can confirm I like it. Will I listen to again: 100%

Like the start, reminds me of AJJ, of course looking for a more polished form than a folk punk project usually does. Really liked it!

Very cool selection. It's not among the best of the grunge era, but it definitely pushes the slacker mentality. Love it's influence on future work but in itself it gets a 3

What I’ve always loved about Pavement is how they manage to keep things laid back and chilled while layering in a ton of noise and chaos. It’s like they’ve mastered the art of controlled disorder, all set against a mellow backdrop. Pavement is a band that really reminds me of Dinosaur Jr., if I’m not in the right headspace, their music can completely pass me by. But when the mood hits just right, I get totally absorbed in their albums.

Quite alright - slightly fuzzy indie rock

Rahhh pavement

Wow, I hate this!

Terrific all around

Several dear friends of mine love Pavement, so it doesn't really give me enjoyment to not get anything from them. I think this is pleasant enough, but I struggle to retain anything from it. The music, and also the vocals, feel maybe too sleepy/slacker-y for me. I like the song 'Jackals...'

Tough album. It tries to irritate you, not welcoming and just them doing things because they can (“Conduit for Sale!” with its repeating chorus). It’s not all negative though. “Here” is a nice ballad-like tune and the second half is probably better. They have cool guitars and drums but not hearing the love for this one. 2.5 stars.

3.5

I really liked the album, though this kind of low fi slacker rock isn't always my thing, but most of this fit right onto my taste. Especially some of the solos kinda sporadically sprinkled through out the album. (8.5) ★★★★

Really liked the slacker rock sound on here. I have a feeling this might rise further on subsequent listens. 4 stars

Awesome Slacker Rock classic. 5 stars.

Not a fan of the first half at all. Just a nasty racket with sub-Weezer songs mixed with elements of Slint and other noise rock crap. Second half starting from Loretta’s Scars was a lot better and more tuneful actually. Quite a few pleasant songs pleasantly sung and performed. 2.0 for first side and 3.5 for second side so 2.75 overall.

Heard this years and years ago and kind of hated it. I guess my ears have matured a lot and now I dig this. 4 stars

pretty good

When it comes to the 'slacker' subgenre of alternative rock in the 90s, I've always had a greater affinity for bands like 'Built to Spill' and, especially, 'Modest Mouse'. But I've always appreciated Pavement's commitment to this subgenre's defining aspects more than anything, with the clumsy, off-kilter vocals showcasing just how far this laid-back sound can be pushed. That's to say, Stephen Malkmus sounds like Lou Reed's (even more) awkward son. It's quite ahead of its time in certain respects, like how that rap-talk portion on 'Conduit For Sale!' predicted the sound of like every 2020s post-punk revival group. Lyrically speaking, this album's themes are nowhere near as clear-cut compared to those other groups in this genre - though the focus seems to be on tragically strained relationships. The best song, by a mile, is 'Zurich is Stained', a gorgeous culmination of all of Pavement's best attributes. Just wish the song was longer. 'Loretta's Scars' is another highlight, with it showcasing those fuzzy walls of guitars the band loves o-so much, and the lyrics are charmingly quirky, yet undeniably unsettling and even hopeless. 'Here' was another song that I feel flawlessly captures everything that made this subgenre so great in the 90s. I do love Pavement's sound, and I think I enjoyed this record a fair bit more than their follow-up 'Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain', which I was already familiar with going into this (though Gold Soundz off that album is still my favorite Pavement song). I think more than anything, Pavement's sound stands out in the sense that it's very easy to make out just how influential their aesthetic was (I'm looking at you CSH) - and that alone is worthy of praise.

I like this one, although it does tail off a little on the last few tracks. The vocals prevent it from being a top, top album, but it's still a lot of fun.

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.

almost perfect. could i write poetry to this? y

A very good album, but I don't think it is Pavement's best. This list seems to add weight to debut albums, so here we are.

Every time I listen to Pavement I remember how much I like Pavement

Doesn’t do anything for me.

3.5

Mid

I don’t get it. I’m sorry.

I think it's pretty good, but I don't think I'm as interested in it as I was in the last Pavement album my group got. Maybe because I can pin it more to the 90's, whereas they'd achieved something not as easily pinnable on their follow-up? I don't really find myself as interested in interrogating as I did the last time. I'll nod, acknowledge that it had some nebulous good influence on indie that I don't have the experience to figure, and say that there's quite a few moments and a couple of songs on here that I enjoy, but I can't do much more than that. It's a "minimum 3 and no lower" in my eyes.

I really dig this one a bit more than Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. 4.5 down to 4.

I’m at a 3. It’s not a bad album, but there’s just nothing super appealing about it to me; there’s good tracks here, but it’s very hard to get a real sense of a defined style and tone of this album. I’m a sucker for variety, but sometimes this album switches really harshly in terms of its tones, going from softer acoustic-driven stuff to harsh electric that’s really oddly mixed on a dime, and that leads to a real lack of cohesion that just sort of sours the album as an experience. I don’t think there are any bad tracks here, but I just think the structure of the album in terms of this track order doesn’t work very well, and as far as the songs themselves go, I just don’t think many of them were as captivating as they could be. Obviously, this is their debut album, so I’ll go easier on them, but from what I remember of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, all the “flaws” (decisions I disagree with, really) were a lot more ironed out on that record, and it just made for a much tighter album that felt more cohesive. Ultimately, this is fine, and it’s really solid 90s rock. Someone will get more out of this than I did, and I can easily see someone giving this a 4 or a rather generous 5, but I don’t think it’s any lower than a 3. I liked a lot of what’s here, it just wasn’t THAT good to go any higher than a 3. It’s way fucking better than Haute de gamme, at least.

It's ok, can definitely see it's influence on other bands. Enjoyed it more than I thought I would. 2.57

Yes. More.

This album is an indie rock staple, but I’m honestly not that crazy about the songwriting here, even if the raw sound is inviting

3/5

4+/5

Guter Alternative Rock.

I love it.

Some of it isn't bad, but some of it is just too annoying, and brings the whole album down. (Looking at you, Conduit for Sale!)

Favourite tracks: winter babe; trigger cut; Zurich's stained; Loretta's scars; perfume-v

Quite liked it have not listened to the this album before but have listened to pavement

probably gonna grow on me a lot. i like it a lot

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…

I've heard some of the later Pavement stuff and enjoyed it. This is quite different, but I still really enjoyed it.

Legal. Alternativo

a little disappointed here, i know pavement and i know they make music in a style that i like, but this album didnt really strike me as anything special. this isnt to say its bad, it just isnt what i expected

This is undoubtedly a great album, and I do like it, but I feel like I need more time with it. I've heard it five or six times before and as much as I like it, it never hits that higher level for me. After I pulled it here I listened to it three times and gave it a couple extra days just to be fair. Every time I'm just waiting for it to "click" with me and it never does. Maybe one day. *Heard before

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

There were a couple of good indie rock hits, but the album itself lacked the coherence to be an enjoyable listen.

The floor for 90’s alt rock starts at 3 stars for me. Haven’t heard of these guys but they seem to be pioneers. A couple moments of screamo I didn’t appreciate, but overall solid album. Kinda had a Cake vibe.

A little punk rock soft grunge. Can always get behind it as a 90s kid. That said, it isn’t standout by any means

Listenable, but not amazing.... 3 out of 5 stars would not listen to again

This album defines good not great. It sounds like any radio rock song from the 90s/00s. Maybe if I was coming of age in that era and desperate for stuff like this I would like it, but it just seems unremarkable to me.

So I did get a chance to listen to this album twice...and it was worthwhile. Wiki calls this album a forerunner to Indie to come in the 90's. I can see that in the songwriting and instrumentation. But the crappy vocals hearken to a more Punk sensibility. However, it is a product of the grunge era and yet I feel none of that. Sometimes it feels forced and contrived. But despite being a bit of an oddball, it somehow works well a lot of the time.

My first smashing pumpkins, not for me

Love the warm overdriven guitar sounds and the faux-effortless shaggy feel of the whole thing. His melodic phrasing, use of the pause and change of direction and slacker cadence are great, kind of sardonic and full of ennui. They're basically power pop songs - quick hits that get you a little hook, a couple verses, chorus and solo but recorded Lo-Fi and wierded up and given a thick layer of almost shoegaze fuzz. Bored and erudite but pretending to be lazy (as opposed to pissed and strung out and actually stupid) - this is the epitome of that pole of the 1990s white dude specturm.

Sometimes I forget this list is supposed to be enjoyable.

Rock, Punk -> 2

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

I really enjoyed it. Had grunge sounds but more melodic almost? I really need to listen to more Pavement

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.

Mostly painful to listen to.

Tomato

Sucks

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."

I don't hate it, but I'm not really that into the garage style.

Some parts were really not for me. Others were nice, but not groundbreaking

Classic shoegaze

Nice lo-fi indie rock. A keeper.

Kinda reminded me of Marc Bolan and like a 90s T Rex. Which I liked!

Out of my grasp for a 5 but this definitely hit a spot

Ok album but the songs all sound the same

Good songs, very poor vocals and musicianship. Not good.

This is one album that I've come back to many times over the years, "trying" to like it. I get why it's highly regarded and is very influential, but for whatever reason it's never fully clicked with me. I think it might be because I find it hard to tell what all of the songs are actually about. The lyrics seem a bit too random or nonsensical to me. I find the second half a bit dull too. But there are some great ones in the first half. It's probably around a 3.5 for me, so I'll round up.

I can get behind the genre, but not this. A lot sounded like noise. 2*

Better than the first listen years ago.

Not really into this. It bores me a bit. It’s a bit of a drag. Some good sounds but not too keen

Very 90s garage band sound. The sound reminds me so much of the songs used in FLCL. Fine but not a revisit

A lot of people are really into Pavement. I'm not one of them. Just sounds like the bastard child of Sonic Youth and the Pixies.

Groupe inconnu. J'aime bien la basse/batterie sur certains morceaux, mais rien de vraiment marquant, et je ne suis pas fan du chant. => 2/5

This album is a great blend of punk (lack of) structure and raw indie rock. Really a great one to have in the listening rotation.

Mukiinmenevä indielevy! 3/5

better than you

I’ve heard pavement songs now and again over the years, but never really listened to an album. This style isn’t really my sweet spot, but there are a lot of interesting ideas throughout.

Pretty solid early indie rock album. Nice sound, not much to complain about. Could listen again

Yikes! I just felt totally unprepared for this album and artist. Nothing about it really connected with me which is hard to admit as I like to try to appreciate indie artists. Nothing else to say...

Like a looser Sonic Youth + pixies. Here is great.

Maybe Pavement is as good as they're supposed to be. I can't tell.

Another band that I was aware of without really listening to. And now I know why - had high hopes when this appeared, but man is this album dull.

Just okay to me. Probably won’t come back to it

A culmination of style. Vocals and instrumentation bathed in 60’s sensibility. True Indy rock with a wild and fun sound

Slanted and Enchanted is the fabulous debut album of Pavement. This strong collection of songs in an indie rock and lo-fi format are full of melody, noise, distortion and subtlety.

This was shit

7/10 I knwo of Pavement as a concept but don’t really know their music, so this was fun. Pretty nice This album/time is clearly at an interesting nexus musically - it draws upon punk, rock, indie, noise and spits it out into a melodic thing that clearly evolves into genres like grunge, indie etc. in the 90s. Clear to hear this DNA in lots of stuff after I’m a big fan of late 90s/early 2000s Blur, and this is clearly a key text for them Vocals are good, almost a Lou Reed quality at some points Drumming is nice and really well recorded on this record Sometimes it ends up a little bit too much noise and not every song is a complete idea Best: Trigger Cut / Wounded-Kite at :17

Kind of gritty noisy rock, I liked some tracks, others not so much. Stand-out: Trigger Cut

44. review erittäin kiltti meikäpoika... pamautus..

Trigger cut might be the blueprint 90s indie song.

Never really listened to this band but love 90’s and some indie/alt rock. Was like a breath of fresh air after listening to a run of serious albums. Not sure if this an essential album but still good nonetheless. Will be listening again.

# 259 : Kind of sounds like a bunch of kids jamming in a mates garage and putting noise down on a tape recorder. I liked : Conduit For Sale

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.

Pretty interesting. Shannon might like

IM TRYING IM TRYING IM TRYING IM TRYING Best pavement album IMO. Zurich is stained, Conduit for Sale, Summer babe, Jackals False Grails all bangers.

Def enjoyed this way more this time around. A lot more saves. Conduit for Sale continues to be absolute bopperoni n cheese. Some lows tho so we’ll toss her a 3

not great

Not a fan of screaming metal

Decent 90s indie stuff

fairly middle of the road early 90's alt rock grungey sound. also, fairly forgettable