On Tuesday, Pavement announced a reissue of their final album, Terror Twilight, which would remaster the original record and include a further 28 unreleased songs. As a preview, Pavement shared the unreleased ‘Be the Hook’, their first release in over 10 years.
Pavement’s last reissue, which was of their penultimate record Brighten the Corners, came out in 2008, and featured a surprise hit in ‘Harness Your Hopes’, a song that rose out of obscurity in 2020 to become the band’s most streamed song.
However, many modern listeners may not be familiar with Pavement’s discography. While the band only have five albums, their body of work covers songs exclusive to EPs and compilations, though the album reissues have made said songs more accessible.
Ahead of their upcoming reunion tour of the UK in October, here are 10 of Pavement’s very best songs that show why their legacy endures today.
10. ‘Box Elder’
One of Pavement’s earliest songs, ‘Box Elder’ is a cut from their first EP, Slay Tracks: 1933-1969. Its snappy guitar riff and sneering punk rock attitude foreshadowed what was to come, portraying the band at their bare-bones: Stephen Malkmus’ witty lyrics over chaotic lo-fi instrumentals, before both became increasingly complicated. Despite its relative obscurity, the song became a hit after a cover by The Wedding Present, and remains a fan favourite.
9. ‘Major Leagues’
Pavement’s final record, Terror Twilight, was their effort at creating a pop record. It was not a success: the band broke up the same year and they showed little acknowledgment of the album until this year’s reissue. While it doesn’t stand up to their earlier records in terms of quality, it remains a good album in its own right. The Nigel Godrich-produced album boasts the band’s most sentimental songs, like ‘Spit on a Stranger’ and ‘Major Leagues’. ‘Major Leagues’ is a country song that bubbles with romance, a victory lap that sheds all the irony Malkmus is famous for, and represents a unique spot in the band’s discography.
8. ‘Summer Babe (Winter Version)’
One of the best openers on a debut album of all time, ‘Summer Babe’ remains the perfect introduction to Pavement, and encapsulates the moment when the band went from good to great. Opening with a reference to ‘Ice Ice Baby’, the slick coolness of Malkmus’ lyrics (“Ice, baby / I saw your girlfriend”) contrasts the searing guitars that capture the song’s setting. Pavement are the perfect summer band, and where else would you start other than their tribute to Californian summers?
7. ‘Zurich is Stained’
Slanted and Enchanted, Pavement’s debut album, was an album by slackers about slackers made for slackers. However, unlike ‘Summer Babe’, ‘Zurich is Stained’ is entirely apathetic. Malkmus begins the song by singing: “I can’t sing it strong enough / ‘Cause that kind of strength I just don’t have’, with his voice reflecting the statement. By the end of the chorus, all Malkmus can muster are vocalised shalalas. While one of Pavement’s shortest songs, it’s entirely memorable for its melody and nonsensical lyrics – what does “Zurich is stained” actually mean?
6. ‘Shoot the Singer (1 Sick Verse)’
Released after Slanted and Enchanted, the Watery Domestic EP would be drummer Gary Young’s final outing with the band. Young had become notorious for his off-beat drumming and on-stage antics, and though his drumming was technically lacking, he made up for it in soul. The groove of ‘Shoot the Singer’ isn’t anything spectacular, but it provides a great base for the song’s instrumentals. Like ‘Zurich is Stained’, the lyrics are frustratingly obtuse – its opening line goes round in circles: “Somebody took in these pants / Somebody painted over paint painted wood” – but the guitars and drums evoke a warm nostalgia that makes the song a captivating listen.
5. ‘In the Mouth a Desert’
Another song from Slanted and Enchanted, the noise rock of ‘In the Mouth a Desert’ sounds like a tribute to contemporaries such as Sonic Youth and Pixies. The lyrics are typically abstract, about an “it” that remains undisclosed, though its title is almost enough for the song to be a stoner anthem. Ultimately, though, what makes the song great is its explosiveness: Malkmus relishes his role as “the king of it”, and it’s easy to get lost in the hypnotic guitar solo that takes up the song’s final minute.
4. ‘Grounded’
Wowee Zowee is Pavement’s most experimental album, covering various genres across its extensive 18 tracks. ‘Grounded’ is one of the more traditional songs on the record, featuring a scathing critique of decadence. Malkmus targets wealthy doctors going through the motions to live a life of luxury, while “boys are dying on these streets”. As Malkmus proclaims the statement, the guitars switch from mellow and blissed-out to loud and distorted, a grim reminder of the reality of the less privileged.
3. ‘Frontwards’
Like its Watery Domestic companion ‘Shoot the Singer’, ‘Frontwards’ is wonderfully nostalgic while being the band’s coolest song. The line, “I’ve got style, miles and miles / So much style that it’s wasted,” remains one of Malkmus’ best. An ode to a simple life and moving on, ‘Frontwards’ captures what made Pavement great: killer guitar solos, a relatable simplicity, and an unapologetic coolness.
2. ‘Here’
A highlight on an album of highlights, ‘Here’ is the only proper ballad on Slanted and Enchanted, a moment of poignancy surrounded by carelessness. ‘Here’ is a coming-of-age song – many of Pavement’s songs are about getting out of a small town, or perhaps looking back on it with nostalgia, but ‘Here’ perfectly captures the moment of uncertainty and melancholy of the moment of doing so, where “everything’s ending here”. Malkmus’ lyrical style expresses the feeling of growing up like few other musicians can, whether it’s the opening line of “I was dressed for success / But success it never comes”, or the imagery in the chorus of an “empty dock” with “rain” and “mist for hire”, and a “piece of mountain” travelling “down the freeway”. Wistfully, Malkmus concludes that “last time is the best time I spent randomly.”
1. ‘Gold Soundz’
Pavement’s second album, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, remains their most popular, featuring classics like the Smashing Pumpkins-mocking ‘Range Life’ and the famously ironic ‘Cut Your Hair’. While both songs are great enough to deserve to be on this list, ‘Gold Soundz’ towers above them as the band’s magnum opus. Combining Pavement’s pop sensibilities with a sun-soaked sound, ‘Gold Soundz’ is as close as the band gets to actually sounding golden – even the band acknowledged the song’s importance by naming their greatest hits compilation after the line “you can never quarantine the past”. Like nearly every song on this list, ‘Gold Soundz’ is thematically about moving on, but it lingers in the memory of being “so drunk in the August sun”, despite knowing the ill-fated ending of the story. Pavement’s best songs relish in nostalgia, yet ‘Gold Soundz’ does away with melancholy for joy, making it endlessly repeatable. After all, Pavement are the quintessential summer indie band, and ‘Gold Soundz’ is the sound of summer.
Words by Stephen Ong
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