File Under: A commercially viable version of Pavement
If You Like: The Pixies, the Walkmen
Label: XL
It's one of the best reviewed albums of the year and it popped up on a lot of Best Of lists mainly because Tapes N Tapes is a promising debut album and there's nothing like finding a new band. Even one that is blatantly ripping off Pavement. At least they aren't trying to hide it, and you could do a lot worse than ripping off the lords of indie rock.
Which gives me an excuse to talk about how great Pavement was. The early 90s is when "alternative rock" broke into the mainstream and it felt like our team won. But within a few years, the net result of the alternative going overground was crappy knockoff bands like Bush and Seven Mary Three. So Pavement stepped into the breach and proudly led everyone back to the underground, taking potshots at the Smashing Pumpkins on the way. It's been over 10 years, so its about time to smooth the corners and make another stab at the mainstream. Why the hell not?
It's got the crazy shifts and the literate yet meaningless lyrics. It meanders into nooks and crannies. The songs start and stop without warning. But, since we've heard this before, it's now oddly comforting. I expect the jags at this point. It's like meeting an old friend, or at least a friend of the old friend. We speak the same language. It's nostalgic without being nostalgia.
THE VIDEO: The clip is "The Insistor". Which is probably the LEAST Pavement-sounding song on the album, so its a dirty trick. This is the song where the rip off the Pixies. But that's the whole point of singles, to sucker you in.
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