Search - Pavement :: Brighten the Corners

Blister the seas

Kevin J. Zahnle | mountain view, ca United States | 03/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was the album that got reviewed - lengthily and insightfully - in the New Yorker. The drawing of the band, sm in particular, is indelible and caught their mood better than the band may have wished. Fin, especially, which is about as sad as nothing in particular could ever be. I like this album a lot. The lyrics are as hooked as a harpoon. Most pop songs tell forgettable little stories. Not these. Here the lyrics are more like music itself, hinting or evoking fragments of stories that don't really resolve into anything definitive. With the better songs one is left with a mood and a few easily-recalled snippets of memory that can be played back again and again whenever the mind calls on them. Unfortunately, pavement was never so popular that these fragments will be anything but your own; you won't be able to use them to communicate as you might use "I am the walrus" or "napolean in rags." Still, you will be richer for adding pavement to your inner life, and you will be delighted (rather than embarrassed) when these bits of music and words emerge unbidden into your thoughts."

Eclectic, creative song structures from a great, great band

A. Boyd | Boston MA | 10/02/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Brighten The Corners is typical of most Pavement releases in its sound - as with The Pixies, Yo La Tengo or Elliott Smith, the quietest, most tranquil phrases are often buttressed against an abrasive wall of guitars. Lead by Stephen Malkmus, song structures are eclectic and complex. If you find yourself tracking The Pixies' chord structures, or trying to figure out Sonic Youth's many tunings, these guys are for you. In which case, you probably already know about them, but who cares - Pavement was brilliant. Sample the song "Stereo" - I rest my case. Love it! GENRES: Alternative, Indie Rock.



BUY IF YOU LIKE: Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Cake, The Pixies/Frank Black/Black Francis, Beck, Nirvana.

MUST HEAR TRACKS: "Stereo," "Shady Lane," "Embassy Row.""