It may be a bit reductive to call
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
the
Reckoning
to
Slanted & Enchanted
's
Murmur
-- not to mention easy, considering that
Pavement
recorded a song-long tribute to
R.E.M.
's second album during the
Crooked Rain
sessions -- but there's a certain truth in that statement all the same.
is an enigmatic masterpiece, retaining its mystique after countless spins, but
strips away the hiss and fog of
S&E
, removing some of
's mystery yet retaining their fractured sound and spirit. It's filled with loose ends and ragged transitions, but compared to the fuzzy, dense
Slanted
,
is direct and immediately engaging -- it puts the band's casual melodicism, sprawling squalls of feedback, disheveled
country-rock
, and
Stephen Malkmus
' deft wordplay in sharp relief. It's the sound of a band discovering its own voice as a band, which is only appropriate because up until
was more of a recording project between
Malkmus
and
Scott Kannberg
than a full-fledged
rock & roll
group. During the supporting tour for
Kannberg
recruited bassist
Mark Ibold
and percussionist
Bob Nastanovich
, and original drummer
Gary Young
was replaced by
Steve West
early into the recording for this album, and the new blood gives the band a different feel, even if the aesthetic hasn't changed much. The full band gives the music a richer, warmer vibe that's as apparent on the rampaging, noise-ravaged
"Unfair"
as it is on the breezy, sun-kissed
of
"Range Life"
or its weary, late-night counterpart,
"Heaven Is a Truck."
may still be messy, but it's a meaningful, musical messiness from the performance to the production: listen to how
"Silence Kit"
begins by falling into place with its layers of fuzz guitars, wah wahs, cowbells, thumping bass, and drum fills, how what initially seems random gives way into a lush Californian
pop
song. That's
in a nutshell -- what initially seems chaotic has purpose, leading listeners into the bittersweet heart and impish humor at the core of the album. Many bands attempted to replicate the sound or the vibe of
, but they never came close to the quicksilver shifts in music and emotion that give this album such lasting appeal. Here,
follow the heartbroken
ballad
"Stop Breathin'"
with the wry, hooky
alt-rock
hit
"Cut Your Hair"
without missing a beat. They throw out a jazzy
Dave Brubeck
tribute in
"5-4=Unity"
as easily as they mimic
the Fall
and mock
the Happy Mondays
on
"Hit the Plane Down."
By drawing on so many different influences,
discovered its own distinctive voice as a band on
, creating a vibrant, dynamic, emotionally resonant album that stands as a touchstone of underground
rock
in the '90s and one of the great albums of its decade. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine