The original Slanted still sounds like a brilliant, befuddled mess. It was Pavement's only full-length with acid-casualty first drummer Gary Young, whose sloppy snare work and cheesy mustache did wonders to counter the band's buttoned-up demeanor. (Young is paid ample tribute in a series of hilarious photos strewn throughout the set's sixty-page booklet.) But the haphazard aural clutter was somewhat contrived -- Slanted was cobbled together in the studio, often one instrument at a time -- mostly by guitarist Scott Kannberg and frontman Stephen Malkmus, whose verbose, bone-dry delivery and sardonic lyrics (I saw your girlfriend/And she's eating her fingers/Like they're just another meal) would become Pavement's calling card. The seven songs that make up the Watery, Domestic sessions document the band's move toward the slightly more accessible stance it would eventually adopt, but the thirteen-song live set captures the ripening enigma at its laconic best.
Comments (0)