PAVEMENT
Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition
Matador
· Originally released in 1995 and dubbed Pavement’s White Album, this double-disc CD collection gets the repackaged and reissued treatment.
Probably best known for being one of Pavement’s more puzzling and experimental albums, Wowee Zowee made more than a few flannel-wearing hipsters scratch their raggedy, unwashed heads in the ’90s. Like Slanted and Enchanted and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, the third instalment in Pavement’s retirement savings plan gets reissued in this beautifully packaged double-disc set. Both discs are jam-packed with original material, rarities and live versions all us "cement-heads" have known and loved for over a decade.
Stephen Malkmus has always been the bee’s knees, but it is on Wowee Zowee that the singer stops being a slacker and actually sounds like he’s putting in some effort. The album is full of Pavement’s most original and creative songs – even if the catchy gems the band was known for on previous releases are more like diamonds in the rough here. For all its feedback, weirdness and whatnot, I dare anyone to find a better throwaway song than "Brinx Job."
And while I swore to my friends that I would not listen to another Pavement reissue until the band reforms, alas, I have no willpower. I simply don’t have the patience to wait until the band checks their bank statements and decides its time for a reunion tour. Yes, I will pore over the B-sides, outtakes, compilation tracks and live versions for many months to come. Some would say obsessively and with an unwillingness to share (this will be in my player until the next reissue). For those of you salivating for a new Pavement album, this is as good as it gets. It’s Pavement, so it’s pretty fucking awesome.
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