Another Form of Relief

I wasn’t a fan of Pavement when the band broke up in 1999. It was around then that I discovered them after a friend scribbled the words Date With Ikea on a list of musical recommendations. Two or three years after that I’d collected each album and would be brave enough to consider myself a “fan”. Even if I never owned this awesome t-shirt.

Even amongst the recent glut of bands getting back together, Pavement weren’t one of the ones I saw it happening with. Indeed, the original break-up was so acrimonious that some of the members only learnt of the split by reading about it online. Yet over the last couple of days, news has appeared from nowhere that the band will reform for a festival in New York next September and embark on a world tour of “major cities”. Quite how extensive this tour will be, I have no idea, but if it doesn’t at least include a London date, a lot of people will be marching on the Domino office.

Poor Scott Kannberg. He’ll forever be “the other one” when it comes to any discussions of Pavement, which is a little unfair given his vital contribution to that band. Malkmus may be the one everybody knows, but it was largely the combination of the two of them that made it work. He’s dabbled around a bit in the ten years since Pavement split, releasing a couple of Preston School of Industry albums. Both were decent, neither were spectacular. Like Malkmus, it seems to be a constant battle to differentiate oneself away from the Pavement connection that seems doomed to failure.

The Real Feel will be Kannberg’s first solo album as Spiral Stairs. It’s an odd decision when you notice the twenty or so people that worked on it listed on his website. But a name is just a name, and perhaps a shift away from the Preston name would be beneficial. The only problem is that musically it still sounds just like the previous band. It’s by no means bad, but Maltese Terrier would feel right at home on either Preston album. Perhaps the full album will open up a range of new delights. But odds are, it’s still not going to be Pavement.

The Real Feel will be out on October 20 (little early for the promo track, no?) via Matador Records.