''Slanted and Enchanted'' is the debut studio album by American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band Pavement, released on April 20, 1992 by

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City ap ...

. It is the only Pavement album to feature drummer Gary Young. The title ''Slanted and Enchanted'' is taken from the title of a cartoon made by Silver Jews frontman David Berman. Its cover art was created by appropriating that of an existing album, Ferrante & Teicher's ''Keyboard Kapers''. The album received critical acclaim and is seen as a landmark for indie rock, with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranking it 199th on its 2020 edition of

The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indu ...

. As of 2007, the album had sold 150,000 copies. In 2022, Alex Ross Perry adapted the album into a

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

titled ''Slanted! Enchanted!''

Background and recording

The album was recorded at the home recording studio of Pavement drummer Gary Young's on what was described as a "tight budget" over a span of ten days. The process was said to have been "relaxed." Malkmus recorded playing a

Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of double- cutaway electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corpora ...

, and Kannberg recorded with a Fender Mustang and a Gibson SG. Kannberg played through a Fender Silverface Twin Reverb amplifier, and Malkmus played through a small boutique

Epiphone Epiphone () is an American musical instrument brand that traces its roots to a musical instrument manufacturing business founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos in İzmir, Ottoman Empire, and moved to New York City in 1908. After taking over ...

amplifier that was borrowed the father of one of his friends. They used ProCo TurboRat and Boss DS-1 distortion pedals. ''Slanted and Enchanted'' was distributed to critics as early as 1991, months before its official release; the original distribution did not feature the entire band, as several members joined during its production. The recording sessions were split between South Makepeace Studios in Brooklyn, New York (recorded December 24, 1990) and Louder Than You Think Studios in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...

(recorded January 13–20, 1991).

Release history

The album’s first single, " Summer Babe", appeared in August 1991. It was Pavement’s last release of new material for the Chicago-based Drag City label before the band moved to Matador Records. The single contained the B-sides "Mercy Snack (The Laundromat)" and "Baptist Blacktick" that were included on Japanese versions in the CD, and later on the deluxe version of the album. A different mix of "Summer Babe," entitled "Summer Babe (Winter Version)," became the first track on the album. The song would go on to be ranked by ''

'' magazine as number 286 in its 2004 list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, and as number 292 in the 2011 update of the list. The album’s second single, "Trigger Cut", was first released in the UK by

Big Cat Records Big Cat Records is a British independent record label. It launched around 1990 and originally specialized in industrial and noise-rock releases. Big Cat operated a US office in New York City for a few years. Integrated with V2 Records in 1996 ...

on July 13, 1992, before appearing in the US market through Matador the following month. ''Slanted and Enchanted'' was officially released on April 20, 1992, to critical acclaim, originally reaching a peak of number 72 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. As of 2007, the album had sold 150,000 copies. In 2002, Matador released ''Slanted and Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe'', a compilation containing ''Slanted and Enchanted'' in its entirety, as well outtakes and other rarities from the same era.

released ''Luxe & Reduxe'' on October 20, 2002, alongside the '' Slow Century'' DVD. It features 48 songs, including the entire original disc and, in addition, 3 outtakes of which one is an unreleased song and the other two are alternate takes, plus the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

s from the " Summer Babe" and " Trigger Cut" singles, 5 songs from two different

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

sessions, the 4-track EP '' Watery, Domestic'', and 13 tracks of a live performance of the band held at the

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Lon ...

in London on December 14, 1992. ''Luxe & Reduxe'' reached number 5 in the US ''Billboard'' Top Independent Albums and number 152 in the US ''Billboard'' 200 charts.

Composition and music

The album is noted for its "stripped down" sound and heavy use of

distortion In signal processing, distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a signal. In communications and electronics it means the alteration of the waveform of an information-bearing signal, such as an audio signal ...

. Andy Price of '' Guitar.com'' described the sound as an "aural mess of dishevelled guitar

noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

, balanced by infectious hooks and a homemade aesthetic," and as a "combination of unkempt, dissonant chord structures, tangled, grubby

riffs A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based on ...

, tuneful, vibrant

melodies A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term ca ...

and coolly delivered (but earnestly intelligent) lyrics." Erik Davis of ''Spin'' wrote, "the distortion doesn’t come from a can, nor is it “texture” or “noise.” It’s a living thing, snaking through the strumming guitars." The original Pavement EPs were recorded without the presence of

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

. Some tracks on ''Slanted and Enchante''d, such as "Summer Babe" were recorded with bass, while others, such as "Fame Throwa" have detuned guitars substituting for bass guitar. Songs such as "Here" are said to be "entirely bass-free." Malkumus began to explore alternate guitar tunings, including different variations of

Open D Open D tuning is an open tuning for the acoustic or electric guitar. The open string notes in this tuning are (from lowest to highest): D A D F A D. It uses the three notes that form the triad of a D major chord: D (the root note), F ...

and Open G, which have since been dubbed "

slacker A slacker is someone who habitually work aversion, avoids work or lacks work ethic. Origin According to different sources, the term "slacker" dates back to about 1790 or 1898. "Slacker" gained some recognition during the UK, British Gezira Sche ...

tunings" due to their appearance on the album. Malkmus explained, "We didn’t have a bass guitar on the early recordings. So tuning down gave us a lower sound but also a fullness to the sound. That’s where I started. Then I simplified even more by bringing my G string up to A. I did a lot of things like that." The tracks "The Mouth a Desert", "Loretta’s Scars and Jackals" and "False Grails: The Lonesome Era" are played in CGDGBE tuning. The tracks "Perfume-V", "Summer Babe" and "Conduit For Sale!" use DADABE tuning. In addition to guitar distortion,

feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause and effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handle ...

and noise, the album makes use of hooks that are consistent with those heard in

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

songs. According to Andy Price of '' Guitar.com,'' "Though uninhibited

experimentation An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

was central to Pavement, the bubbling pop hooks that flowed throughout the record’s run-time served to anchor the ears. The dissonant chords which shape the captivating 'In The Mouth a Desert' lead us into a fine example, as growling distortion hovers over the

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse (poetry), a line or lines in a poetic composition * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict meter or rhyme, but still re ...

, snakey hooks periodically rise to have their moment in the sun, before receding into a wash of sound." According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine of ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'', "Listening to ''Slanted & Enchanted'' is like listening to a

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

station that you can barely

tune in TuneIn is a global audio streaming service providing news, radio, sports, music, and podcasts to over 75 million monthly active users. TuneIn is operated by the privately held company TuneIn Inc. based in San Francisco, California. The compan ...

-- melodies are interrupted by shards of

white noise In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used with this or similar meanings in many scientific and technical disciplines, i ...

, only to have a simple hook pull everything back into focus." Davis assessed, "There’s something like the interstellar space noise picked up on

shortwave radios Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (appro ...

. Some songs start off dope, then get raw power, while others open like thunder and then slip down a velvety

slide Slide or Slides may refer to: Places * Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glee ...

." The sounds of the guitars have been described as " fuzzy ndnoisy". The album's opening track " Summer Babe (Winter Version)" has been stylistically described as

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such ...

. Steve Malkmus' vocals are described as
languid
. Davis described the album's sound as consisting of "slapdash drums, bells, catchy choruses, sha-la-la-las, guitars played so loose and confident they’re almost smiling at you." The album has been noted for its

stream of consciousness In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator. It is usually in the form of an interior monologue which ...

lyrical style.

Critical reception

Slanted and Enchanted received critical acclaim. In a contemporary review of the album,

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' was highly positive, writing that Pavement are "always good at both tune and noise" and that the music on ''Slanted and Enchanted'' yields "a message complex enough to offer hope ... that the lyrics will catch up". Erik Davis of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' designated ''Slanted and Enchanted'' as the magazine's "Platter du Jour" for March 1992, describing the album as "so fine it occasionally seems too perfect." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of ''

'' praised the album's songwriting, and closed his retrospective review saying: "Some listeners may initially find the lo-fi sound of the record inaccessible, but the sheer strength of Pavement's songs settles in after a few plays."

Legacy

Since its release ''Slanted and Enchanted'' has appeared on many critics' best-of lists and is frequently cited as being among the most influential

albums of the 1990s.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

cited the album as "a left-field classic" and "one of the most influential records of the '90s". In 2002, ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' awarded the album their maximum grade of 10.0/10.0 in a review of the album's reissue and ranked it as the fifth greatest album of the 1990s in 2003. ''Rolling Stone'' called ''Slanted and Enchanted'' "the quintessential indie rock album" and placed it on the magazine's list of

the 500 greatest albums of all time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indu ...

In 2017, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' called it a "slacker masterpiece" and "the definitive indie rock album". Andy Price of Guitar.com wrote, "''Slanted and Enchanted'' was a felicitous moment-seizer. And one which prescribed the DIY ethos of independent music for decades to come." Mike Powell of ''

'' said: "Pavement weren’t the only early-’90s band that turned noise into something like pop—

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

and

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

did the same—but the low-key charm of ''Slanted and Enchanted'' felt different. Whatever angst they might’ve felt was sublimated by a bookishness and sense of grandeur that made even their feedback seem sweet. ..To gentle hearts inspired by punk’s freedom but wigged out by its intensity, they served as proof that not every revolution demands a fight."

Accolades

Track listing

Personnel

Pavement *

Stephen Malkmus Stephen Joseph Malkmus ( ; born May 30, 1966) is an American musician best known as the primary songwriter, lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Pavement, The ...

– lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar *

Scott Kannberg Christopher Scott Kannberg (born August 30, 1966), known professionally as Scott Kannberg and Spiral Stairs, is an American musician best known for being a founding member of the indie-rock band Pavement serving as guitarist and occasional le ...

– bass guitar, lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals (tracks 1–2, 4–5), lead vocals (track 10) * Gary Young – drums Additional Personnel * Cy Jameson – engineer (track 9)

Charts

{, class="wikitable plainrowheaders" ! Chart (1992) ! Peak
position , - ! scope="row", Australian Albums (

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

){{{cite web , url=https://imgur.com/a/0mKrXhy , title=Pavement (American Indie rock group) ARIA Chart history to 2024, received from ARIA in November 2024, publisher=ARIA, via=Imgur.com, access-date=November 22, 2024 N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart. , align="center", 178 , - {{album chart, UK2, 72, date=19920419, rowheader=true, access-date=November 15, 2021

References

{{Reflist

External links

*{{Discogs master, 21660 {{Pavement {{Authority control Album chart usages for UK2 1992 debut albums Domino Recording Company albums Flying Nun Records albums Matador Records albums Pavement (band) albums Lo-fi music albums Noise pop albums