Uproxx’s Joypocalypse Argues Pavement Is The Most Effortlessly Cool ’90s Indie Band

The past year in Pavement news has been surprisingly robust. Last December, Spiral Stairs said a new Pavement song was coming. This year, we got both the Pavements documentary and the Joe Keery-starring sorta-biopic Range Life. If you ask Uproxx’s Steven Hyden, Slanted And Enchanted is a pioneering indie album, and he’s not the only one with love for the band.

In a new video, Uproxx’s Joypocalypse explains why “out of the indie rock boom of the ’90s, no band sounded quite as effortless as Pavement.”

She says:

“That effortless sound came from many stylistic and artistic choices. Their unconventional tuning, for example, playing slightly out-of-tune guitars. On top of playing slightly out of tune, they would also de-tune notes occasionally. This effortless looseness this band is known for also bleeds into their production choices, where especially on early albums, you hear them lean into more lo-fi textures.

I also feel that the lyrical styling of Pavement adds to this effortless mystique. Effortless, stream-of-consciousness lyrics that play a lot with sarcasm. This combination of wiry guitar, off-kilter groove, surreal wordplay, and quirky production is what makes them so influential.”

She concludes, “Pavement is definitely among the artists that helped solidify lo-fi as a legitimate artistic choice and not just a limitation.”

Check out the video above.