Weekly Artist Overview: Pavement - Page 4

It didn't win over a lot of their enemies, however, who used "slacker" as a slur against these middle class Californians who seemed too lazy to develop the technical chops their albums' ambitiousness seemed to demand, nor did Malkmus' smug and smartass attitude at times win them friends. The band was disappointed with the critical reception for Brighten The Corners, and their humor often seemed misunderstood. Some of the good reviews called the album "mature", while erstwhile fans pointed to it as a sign of decline.

Coming off a worldwide tour, the band decided to take a break in early 1998. Malkmus busied himself with the Silver Jews, while Kannberg started up a label, Pray For Mojo, and also did some drumming for an impromptu San Francisco covers band, Half Five Quarter to Six. The band members also devoted time to their families, after the years of work. The months passed, and rumors began to swirl that the band's heart wasn't in it anymore, that a break-up was imminent. Pavement insisted there would be an album in 1999, and true to word, Terror Twilight was released.

Nigel Godrich was an eyebrow-raising choice for producer. Noted for his smooth-as-silk production of Natalie Imbruglia, Beck, and Radiohead, he seemed likely to sand off Pavement's rough edges; Pavement without rough edges would be a greatly diminished band. Fortunately, Godrich didn't sand-down the band so much as reign them in, as he had done with Beck and Radiohead, and having a reign on Malkmus and Kannberg did help make the album more cohesive and accessable. However, it doesn't sound like Pavement of old; Kannberg has no songs included, and Malkmus has never seemed so laid back. The guitars recede into texture with minimal outbursts; if anything, the album is missing the firey unpredictibility Pavement had built its name on. It's still a fine album, if unrepresentative. "Spit On A Stranger" and "You Are A Light" are standouts. While derided by some as a pop move, others found this to be the easiest listening of the band's career, and again saw it as a sign of further "maturation". Terror Twilight peaked at #95.

The rumors of a break-up grew after that; Malkmus began playing solo dates which made Terror Twilight seem in retrospect like a solo run-through. These fears proved correct in late 1999 when the band didn't so much as break up as simply wander away. Pavement announced they'd be splitting "for the forseeable future", while Matador Records hinted it would only be a temporary hiatus. At their final gig, at London's Brixton Academy, on November 20, 1999, the band played with a set of handcuffs hanging from the mic stand. Malkmus said it was a symbol of being in a band. He thanked the audience politely at the end of the show, and the band left the stage.

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