Amazon.co.uk Review
Unfazed by the dissolution of
Pavement in 2000, Kannberg chose, for
All This Sounds Gas, to return to his four-track recorder, and began work anew as the cryptically named Preston School of Industry. For a while, it looked like Scott Kannberg was going to become the man that alt-rock forgot. Going under the pseudonym "Spiral Stairs", Kannberg was the founding member of the charming Pavement that wasn't
Stephen Malkmus, and it was his laconic, effortlessly gorgeous guitar lines that elevated albums such as
Slanted and Enchanted above the rest of the shambolic indie-pop crop. Judging by much of
All This Sounds Gas, Kannberg's impact on late-era Pavement appears to have been minimal: this sounds like a real blast from the past--think the winding left-field ramble of
Wowee Zowie over the refined perfect pop of
Terror Twilight. Without Malkmus dripping his trademarked honey-glazed surreality over Kannberg's gliding melodic scree, it can't be denied that there's a little something missing. But Kannberg's lead vocal is more than just functional; "Whale Bones" and "Falling Away" are elegantly shrugged-off lo-fidelity beauties, "Solitare" nods slyly towards
Lou Reed's "Kill Your Songs", and on the closing seven-minute "Take a Stand", Kannberg plucks up the confidence to lay on his grand
Wayne Coyne impression--and impressively, just about pulls it off. Spiral Stairs lives! And this sure beats retirement. --
Louis Pattison
CD Description
'All This Sounds Gas' is Preston School Of Industry's debutalbum. The band features former Pavement guitarist Spiral Stairs aka Scott Kannberg. The single 'Whalebones' also features on the album.