Published on May 19, 2003
Wowee Zowee, Pavement’s fourth album, arrived in 1995, a
very interesting time for the band. Having built a cult following
on the back of full-length debut
Slanted and Enchanted, and even enjoyed some relative
mainstream success with hook-heavy
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, the band with
Wowee Zowee presented perhaps its most artistically
significant offering. The album refuses to sit into one category,
and its often beautiful experimentation characterized Pavement’s
intention to remain as far from the mainstream as they could.
Indeed,
Wowee Zowee is perhaps not noted as Pavement’s best because
it cost them their growing trendy following, who, more often than
not, latched onto the band following
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain‘s insanely catchy single “Cut
Your Hair.”
It is no surprise, then, that
Wowee Zowee is starkly unique figure in the Pavement
back-catalogue, offering up slightly more with every repeat listen.
The lyrics are typically obscure but often poignant, and delivered
in the motioning, careering manner that only Malkmus can offer.
Pavement retain their distinctive style of sporadic guitar held
together by an understated rhythm section. The band jumps to and
fro among styles throughout the album,with delicate, downcast
“Grounded” typically followed by a frantic “Serpentine Pad,” which
is as heavy as the band had ever been.
“Father To A Sister Of Thought” stands out as the album’s
greatest moment, and, as such, was one of the few singles to emerge
from Pavement in the
Wowee Zowee era. As a psuedo-country styling, its slide
guitar warbling combines with Malkmus’ profound wordings to invoke
images of cowboys with tears. “Grave Architecture” shows Pavement
at their lazy best whilst remaining to sound playful (and strangely
Hawaiian in parts), “AT&T”‘s colourful and peculiar lyrics
remind of a
One Foot In The Grave-era Beck and “Flux = Rad” reminds us
that Pavement could be both driving and erratic, and were, as such,
a favorite band of one Kurt Cobain.
Wowee Zowee is understandably cited as Pavement’s
experimental album, relaying between the fierce and the fragile. It
is perhaps the most rewarding of all their albums, refusing to give
up certain aural treats and subtleties until a third or fourth
listen. It has aged better than many albums of its era, and retains
and unerring sense of presence (especially aptly titled “Fight This
Generation”). Its sound is more refined than earlier releases and
earthier than anything that followed. It doesn’t best showcase
Pavement’s ability to be catchy and fun, but it does paint the
picture of their remarkable chemistry as a band. It sits perfectly
in an record collection, and is justly regarded as a masterpiece by
all true Pavement fans