#434 Pavement, 'Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain' (1994)

Previously #212

This is one of the most underrated albums of the past 30 years. Last time around, this album was a major highlight on the list for me. It was the first time I’d heard it and I’ve listened to it many times since. On their second album, Pavement delivered a 5-star album of slacker rock. An album that surely inspired artists like Violent Soho, Mac DeMarco, Speedy Ortiz, Car Seat Headrest, Courtney Barnett, Modest Mouse etc. I hear so many later artists in this record. I hear artists that preceded them too, of course. There are some slow jams right out of the Grateful Dead playbook, ‘5-4=Unity’ is reminiscent of Dave Brubeck’s ‘Take Five’ and there’s even references to the sounds of contemporaries such as Smashing Pumpkins (and a name drop in ‘Range Life’). It would be remiss of me not to mention ‘Cut Your Hair,’ the breakthrough track of the album. Massive song!

The whole has only sold 500,000 in total worldwide and failed to chart. The reviews were favourable, though. I think there’s still a generation of people yet to discover this one. This record could be the soundtrack for a timeless generation struggling to mature from a sharehouse to a mortagage. It’s a hidden gem.

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