All grown up

Malkmus used to be a loser, and it was fabulous. When on "Here" (from Slanted and Enchanted) he told his beloved, "Your jokes are always bad / But they're not as bad as this," he wasn't stepping outside the song to provide sardonic commentary, he was telling a story. Not that a whole lot of linear narrative is to be found on S & E or Crooked Rain, but the lyrics from those albums were great stream-of-consciousness stuff: bizarre, evocative imagery, and the occasional brilliant line. But on Brighten the Corners, for every "If my soul has a shape, then it is an ellipse" (on "Blue Hawaiian") there are 10 lines like "the roast was just so perfectly prepared," from the snide wedding prank "We Are Underused." The arch, bemused, irony-soaked coolie persona Malkmus perfected on Crooked Rain worked because it was so endearingly transparent, a cover for the uncertainty and vulnerability lurking beneath. But on Corners all that's left is the cryptic-asshole veneer. "He is abstract and bored," Malkmus sings on "Transport is Arranged." Give the guy credit for self-reflection.

And for plenty else, because musically, Brighten the Corners is a most versatile and ambitious creation. Taken as a richly produced and multilayered whole, the songs amount to a sprawling pastiche incorporating influences ranging from Magical Mystery Tour to Murmur, from Ravi Shankar to the Byrds to Beck (check out the dog-whistle synth, pimp-strut bass, and dance-beat drum in "Passat Dream"). While no moment is as incandescent as a few Pavement gems of yore (think "Summer Babe" or "Gold Soundz"), the boys from Stockton have recovered nicely from the fatuous wank-off that was Wowee Zowee. Circa Crooked Rain, Pavement left me dizzy, faint with reverence, like those teary-eyed vigil-keepers in Evita. Nowadays, I'm a little more level-headed, and can offer a simpler endorsement: Pavement rocks. Maybe I'm too lazy to deconstruct it further, or maybe I've had my fill of decon from Mr. Malkmus.

--Jessica Winter

Back to A & E...