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Even before it totally kicks in, Brighten the Corners displays a sense of improvement over the listless, shapeless Wowee Zowee. A few simple musical touches like Mellotron strokes and ever-developing vocal harmonies open up Pavement's sound without carrying them off into overly textured snooziness. While this is often cited as Pavement's "domestic" record--several members got married around the time of its creation--its songs more often evince puzzlement than McCartneyish delight with family matters. And as always, Pavement is buzzed about rock; the album's final song is called "Fin" not so much in homage to French film as in rhythm to the marching cadence of Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk". --Jimmy A. Corrigan
Review
Continuing in Domino's deluxe repackaging of the Pavement albums - now becoming something of a bi-annual treat - we have now come to the fourth, 1997's Brighten The Corners. As before in previous re-dos, it's lavishly repackaged with a fancy booklet and remastered with a further 30 tracks taken from sessions and b sides of that period. Making it the ideal gift for an indie uncle.
Brighten The Corners arrived just as Pavement threatened to go overground. Having won over their faithful with debut Slanted & Enchanted, confirmed their genius in Crooked Rain Crooked Rain and bamboozled several with Wowee Zowee, Brighten The Corners appealed as their most pop album yet. Seeing as Blur had apparently 'gone a bit Pavement' earlier that year with their self titled masterpiece, the name-check raised awareness, and a wider audience finally attuned to their skewed, angular and occasionally hilarious world were Pavement's for the taking.
Now, over a decade on, tracks such as the glorious Shady Lane, We Are Underused and highlight Stereo - with one of the best exchanges in a song ever: '''what about the voice of Geddy Lee? How did it get so high? I wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy?' 'I know him, and he does', 'well you're my fact checking cuz'''. Amazing. Very little dates in Pavement's world and still now Brighten The Corners is a treat from start to finish. The extra bits and bobs include covers of The Killing Moon, and delights such as the fantastically titled Neil Hagerty Meets Jon Spencer In A Non-Alcoholic Bar.
Now, hopefully, once their final album - 1999's Nigel Godrich-produced Terror Twilight - has a polish-up in a couple of years, they can get around to reforming seeing as they are one of the final remaining great bands who've yet to hit the comeback trail. Tremendous. --Ian Wade
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
These Pavement double-disc deluxe editions that are being released by Matador every 2 years are among the best reissues that I know. The gorgeous packaging, the brilliant design work, the massive booklets stuffed with interesting liner notes and photos, and the tons of extra-tracks set a new standard to the so-called deluxe editions. Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition (love the weird sub-titles!) maintains the level.
This is my favourite Pavement album and ever since these deluxe-editions started coming out I had been waiting for its turn.
Brighten The Corners is Pavement's strongest and most consistent album. All these are good "proper" songs. There is no fooling around with thrown away ideas or silly jams. I understand that those are natural ingredients of the Pavement sound, but Wowee Zowee surely needed a bit more editing and quality control. And don't get it wrong, this is far from shinny and polished, this is still 100% low-fi indie rock as according to Pavement. The band still indulges here and there but overall things are much more in control.
Highlights include the college rock hit 'Stereo' with its bumpy bass line and explosive chorus, the catchy 'Shady Lane' and - a personal favourite and my favourite Scott Kannberg song - the chiming urgent 'Date with IKEA' with its byrdsian guitar all over. The album has a double grand finale with two slow-moving ballads 'Starlings Of The Slipstream' and 'Fin' that feature extended epic guitar abuse by Malkmus with loads of feedback and over-bent strings.
Of the 30-plus bonus tracks you can expect the usual treat. Excellent, interesting, funny, pointless, we get a bit of everything. But there are some standout tracks. The embryonic 'The Hexx', then called 'And Then', is as much powerful as it is underdeveloped. The instrumental 'Beautiful As A Batterfly', 'Westie Can Drum', 'Harness Your Hopes', 'Destroy Mater Dei', 'The Classical'.... are all great additions to this album.
The 50-page booklet features a long essay that deals more with the importance of nonsense lyrics in rock songs and, particularly, in Pavement. It's a very interesting text that runs for several pages until it arrives at Brighten The Corners just at closing time. But I miss a bit of historic context in the liner notes - the recording process, what the band was going through.
For the first time in these re-issues, there are no words by Stephen Malkmus or any of the band members or people involved on the making of the record. This brings back the idea that this album is so under-appreciated, probably even by the band - something that really puzzles me.
This is my favourite Pavement album and ever since these deluxe-editions started coming out I had been waiting for its turn.
Brighten The Corners is Pavement's strongest and most consistent album. All these are good "proper" songs. There is no fooling around with thrown away ideas or silly jams. I understand that those are natural ingredients of the Pavement sound, but Wowee Zowee surely needed a bit more editing and quality control. And don't get it wrong, this is far from shinny and polished, this is still 100% low-fi indie rock as according to Pavement. The band still indulges here and there but overall things are much more in control.
Highlights include the college rock hit 'Stereo' with its bumpy bass line and explosive chorus, the catchy 'Shady Lane' and - a personal favourite and my favourite Scott Kannberg song - the chiming urgent 'Date with IKEA' with its byrdsian guitar all over. The album has a double grand finale with two slow-moving ballads 'Starlings Of The Slipstream' and 'Fin' that feature extended epic guitar abuse by Malkmus with loads of feedback and over-bent strings.
Of the 30-plus bonus tracks you can expect the usual treat. Excellent, interesting, funny, pointless, we get a bit of everything. But there are some standout tracks. The embryonic 'The Hexx', then called 'And Then', is as much powerful as it is underdeveloped. The instrumental 'Beautiful As A Batterfly', 'Westie Can Drum', 'Harness Your Hopes', 'Destroy Mater Dei', 'The Classical'.... are all great additions to this album.
The 50-page booklet features a long essay that deals more with the importance of nonsense lyrics in rock songs and, particularly, in Pavement. It's a very interesting text that runs for several pages until it arrives at Brighten The Corners just at closing time. But I miss a bit of historic context in the liner notes - the recording process, what the band was going through.
For the first time in these re-issues, there are no words by Stephen Malkmus or any of the band members or people involved on the making of the record. This brings back the idea that this album is so under-appreciated, probably even by the band - something that really puzzles me.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Pavement, the queens of modern American Lo-Fi! This eclectic offering brings a refreshing wave of mayhem from the minute you press play. 'Bighten the Corners opens with the aptly named 'Stereo', a song by all contrasts giving the listener a full flavour of the very stuff that is Pavement. With the all time great line - "what about the voice of Gedi Lee, I wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy; I know him and he does". This wonderful nonsense prevails throughout with the lyrical timbre ranging from the absurd to the absurder! Musically the 3 minute form is stretched out of all recognition, with half finished themes rolling into neatly explored phrases to downright heavenly 'noise'.
Lo-Fi has never had it so good, a co-hesive blend of disonance and tongue - in - cheek harmoniousness. The album moves swiftly without peaks and troughs, just one long high ride! If you have not ventured into Pavement territory, this is the album to familiarise yourself with. For those veteran fans, a culmination of anarchistic adolescence metamorphosising into a Utopia of sound and fable.
Go Buy It!
Lo-Fi has never had it so good, a co-hesive blend of disonance and tongue - in - cheek harmoniousness. The album moves swiftly without peaks and troughs, just one long high ride! If you have not ventured into Pavement territory, this is the album to familiarise yourself with. For those veteran fans, a culmination of anarchistic adolescence metamorphosising into a Utopia of sound and fable.
Go Buy It!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This album is one of my favourite albums ever. And NME gave it a whole 6 out of 10. This shows you what happens with pavement, a lot of people dont quite get it. In fact almost all of the pepole I have forced this album on havent quite got it. Oh well. I love every song on this album especially Stereo, Embassy Row, Old To Begin and Type Slowly. If you want to find a great band then this is a good place to start. Especially if you are a colonised amateur sea salt gatherer.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Underused
On of my favourite albums by the band. Great cover, some classic tracks and a nice production job that makes it sound clear and crisp while still regaining the edge from their... Read more
Published 12 months ago by ratmonkey
Genius relaxing at the top of its form
Another embarassment of riches from Pavement. Many fans will have the original album and possibly many of the other tracks on CD singles. Read more
Published on 6 April 2009 by I'm Frank
Three cheers for the gentlemen from America
I know we've still got Terror Twilight to go, but I can't wait any longer. Since the first re-issues of the Pavement back catalogue appeared a few years ago, this has become a sort... Read more
Published on 21 Jan 2009 by Howard Change
Nicene Creedance Extras
This is not my favourite album by Pavement but this deluxe edition has some brilliant extra tracks. Notably the rocking No Tan Lines and Harness Your Hopes a song like a... Read more
Published on 18 Dec 2008 by blodwynswayze
Well, MY corners have been brightened...
This is a terrific album. I'd kind of forgotten how much I liked Pavement until seeing the "Slow Century" DVD recently. Read more
Published on 17 Aug 2007 by Neil
theres no coast of nebraska
'whats your favourite pavement album?' is a rhetorical question for me, i mean if push came to shove, i guess ill listen to crooked rain crooked rain the most, but brighten the... Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2007 by Cliford Peter Clarke
Edges papered, but tenderness remains
Coming nearer to the end of their career than the start, 'Brighten the Corners' does seem to encompass most of the facets Pavement have to offer
The opening track,... Read more
The opening track,... Read more
Published on 26 May 2006 by Mr. Joe R. Simpson
Fantastic
One of my favourite albums, laid back and relaxing, yet with moments of indie noise and a more `rock' feel to it, in my opinion a pretty perfect balance between the two sides, and... Read more
Published on 22 May 2006 by David Lovie
Brightener
"Brighten the Corners" remains Pavement's most settled, accessable rock record, but the band doesn't eschew their musical sound or their indie roots. Read more
Published on 18 Jan 2006 by E. A Solinas
Masterpiece? I'd say!
This is definetly the best Pavement album. A lot of people would say that 'Slanted....' is, but I couldn't see how. As a whole, its perfect and the songs individually are the best. Read more
Published on 21 Nov 2004 by Sam Bennis
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