Pavement
Crooked Rain Crooked Rain

THE REVIEW

The relentless passage of time has granted "crooked rain" the stature of a classic. Deservedly so, considering that besides being an album containing only songs of dazzling beauty, one can use without fear the term "seminal" since it has influenced the sound of hundreds of bands and managed even at the time of its release to carve out an important space.

1994, still post-adolescent, devastated by the death of Kurt Cobain, it was Malkmus and company who made me quickly forget the noisy era of grunge and throw myself headlong into the frayed, dyslexic musical plots of the so-called slacker bands.

Love at first listen and it couldn't be otherwise if at least once in your life you have heard "range life", for instance. Lazy and nonchalant, they have always recorded imperfectly sounding records (except for the last two) maintaining a sincere and unspoiled attitude, managing to be unconsciously cool with their suburban nerd demeanor that set a trend. I recall an interview with Malkmus where he explained that he deliberately left assorted mistakes during the album sessions, which he believed helped give the project a strong identity. Those who were lucky enough like me to see them live know very well that they were (are) top-notch musicians and Malkmus an extraordinary guitarist, and that their lo-fi imprint was a precise artistic choice.

Velvet, Television, Fall, Pixies, Neil Young: in "crooked rain" the echoes of their main influences are sublimated and blended, thus generating the Pavement sound that becomes irresistible in the misplaced pop of "cut your hair", majestic in "stop breathing", and moving in the already mentioned "range life" where Malkmus, over a vaguely country carpet, mocks the nearly defunct MTV grunge generation of various 'smashing pumpkins' and 'stone temple pilots'. The debut "slanted and enchanted" is considered by many to be Pavement's masterpiece, but I believe that the perfection in their imperfection is reached here, in this dazzling clash of guitars that chase, throttle and make you want to light up a nice joint.

Perhaps at sunset, maybe with some friends to remember our 17 years and one of the greatest albums in rock history.