When ATP asked for fans to vote for the bands they would most like to see play their festival a couple of years ago, Pavement, despite having split up almost a decade ago, were at the very top of the list.
Its easy to see why. Of all the successful alt.rock bands of the 90s, Pavement are pretty much the only ones not to do a reunion tour yet, they also boast the most consistent body of work of any of those bands AND they have kept themselves in the picture by undertaking just about the most comprehensive re-issue series I can remember. Every two years, a Pavement album is lovingly remastered and repackaged with a quite stunning amount of bonus tracks. It is a labour of love taken on by band members and Matador Records. So, 11 years since it was released, we now come to 'Brighten The Corners'.
It is still exciting to hear the opening bassline of 'Stereo' giving way to explosive guitar feedback, heralding one of the great rock songs of the 90s. 'Shady Lane', which follows, is a gorgeous woozy ballad with some left-field but touching lyrics. In fact, 'Brighten The Corners' is probably the high point of Malkmus' Pavement lyrics, there are so many clever/funny lines on this album that it would be wrong to pick a few or even list all of them, they just need to be heard and enjoyed. This is probably the most straight-forward Pavement album, full of anthems (even if they are anti-anthems) and slower songs, there is nothing difficult here.
Along with 'Crooked Rain...' it is also Pavement's most affecting album. Although Malkmus rarely seems to be singing about himself, songs like 'Type Slowly' tug the heartstrings while 'We Are Underused' is the classic Pavement slacker-anthem and simply demands that you sing along. Pavement fans could argue all day about which album is their best, but this is a strong contender. Great guitar riffs, supremely witty lyrics and Stephen Malkmus sounding better than he ever had...up to that point. One of the best alt.rock albums of the 90s.
As far as the extras go....there are 42 songs in total on this release. If you pre-order the album you will also get a bonus live vinyl LP (which we'll review at a later date), but the 2cd's bonus tracks include pretty much everything you could possibly find from this era in the way of radio sessions, b sides, outtakes etc. For me, it is a joy to hear two versions of 'Harness Your Hopes', already one of my favourite Pavement songs and a couple of work-in-progress versions of what turned out to be 'The Hexx'. There are also a couple of previously unreleased outtakes from the BTC sessions, both of which are excellent.
If you are a Pavement fan, you must buy this. If you want to know what all the fuss was/is about, this or 'Crooked Rain...' are the best places to start.
9.5
['Brighten The Corners...' is out in Novemeber, but if you pre-order NOW from Matador Records you get a stream of the album to listen to right now and all manner of goodies leading up the release date. Seriously one of the best reissue packages I have ever seen]
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