Former Pavement lead tries to make name for himself
By CHRISTOPHER McGOVERN
Scene Music Critic
As the leader of the seminal-rock group Pavement for the past decade, Stephen Malkmus fought the good indie rock fight against all the Britneys and Christinas, the Matchbox Twenties and Third Eye Blinds, the Limp Bizkits and Cookie Monsters of the music world.
Now that Pavement has officially left the building and Malkmus has put together a solo project, many wonder what will become of the band's laconic-voiced leader.
Would he forsake his hipster fans and head over to the dark side — actually selling records and being able to afford three squares a day? The cover photo of a shadowed Malkmus striking a dreamy pinup boy pose seems to say yes.
Don't worry too much, though. Malkmus hasn't completely surrendered yet. Yes, gone is the defiant lo-fi in favor of a more polished pop sound. And yes, the obscure tongue-in-cheek is toned down for more straightforward lyricism. But the bemused monotone delivery and cleverness remain.
Malkmus eases Pavement fans into his new record with "Black Book," a dark, droning number that sounds like a Terror Twilight B-side. The move makes sense, considering many people in Pavement's inner circle hinted that Twilight was basically Malkmus' solo debut anyway.
But then the album switches gears, and Malkmus serves up the poppy Ween-like "Phantasies," a story about a bored couple trying not to go nuts out in Alaska. The track is not exactly his strongest moment.
"Jo Jo's Jacket," however, ropes the album's momentum back in. Written from the viewpoint of "The King and I" star Yul Brynner, Malkmus goes out of his way to be ultra-silly on this track and pulls it off as only Pavement could have.
Then comes "Church On White," a waltz-tempoed eulogy for the late writer Robert Bingham, and a kind of universally poignant tune about feelings of failure as a friend. This is one of the album's finest tracks.
With some hurts-so-good guitars, "The Hook" tells the story of Chris Elliott's nancy-boy character in Cabin Boy and his rise from swabbing the decks to running the ship. "Troubbble" leaves listeners craving more as it clocks in at a mere minute and a half. The ancient Greece-themed "Trojan Curfew" reminds one of Built to Spill with its slide guitar driven melody. All are basically middle-of-the-road Pavement tunes.
Perhaps fittingly, as Pavement was oft compared to drone-rock gods The Velvet Underground, Malkmus's first single off the album, "Discretion Grove," sounds oh-so-Lou Reed. High praise for Malkmus to be sure, but old Lou comes off a loser in this case, as the song certainly isn't worthy of even Reed's worst material.
The album's true shining moment comes on "Jenny & The Ess-Dog," the love story of a couple of hippies — with a dog named Trey — whose age difference eventually tears them apart ("she's 18, he's 31/ she's a rich girl, he's the son/ of a Coca-Cola middleman"). The song combines catchiness with a lyrical cleverness that finally gives the album a song that lives up to Malkmus's reputation.
Though some Pavement fans may be turned away, there's nothing too alienating here. On the other hand, with the exception of "Ess-Dog," there's nothing here to expand a fan base on, either. This is the sound of a lost indie rock savior still trying to find his solo voice.
All Scene Stories for Tuesday, February 27, 2001
