''Watery, Domestic'' is the fourth EP 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 November 25, 1992 through

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 group's final release to feature drummer Gary Young as a member.

Background and recording

The record marked the recording debuts of both

Bob Nastanovich Robert Nastanovich (born August 27, 1967) is an American musician and member of the indie rock band Pavement (band), Pavement, as well as a former member of Silver Jews, Ectoslavia, Pale Horse Riders, and Misshapen Lodge. Early life and educa ...

and

Mark Ibold Mark Alan Ibold (born October 17, 1962) is an American musician. He is best known as the bass guitarist of the indie rock band Pavement, with whom he recorded four studio albums. Following Pavement's initial break-up in 1999, Ibold joined the ...

on percussion and bass respectively. Although both had been touring members for some time, the debut album, ''

Slanted and Enchanted ''Slanted and Enchanted'' is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, released on April 20, 1992 by Matador Records. It is the only Pavement album to feature drummer Gary Young. The title ''Slanted and Enchanted'' is taken ...

'' and the preceding EPs had been recorded by a trio of

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 ...

Spiral Stairs Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

and Gary Young. All four songs can also be found on '' Slanted and Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe'', the liner notes to which identify a further 3 songs as having been recorded during the same session. As well as the standard CD and 12" vinyl releases, the record was also available as a 12" picture disc in the UK.

Artwork and packaging

The image of the rooster on the cover was created by defacing the cover of the self-titled album by Ambergris, with the photographic rooster image by Stephen S Myers, American, born 1942. The art direction for the original rooster image was provided by Thom Williams.

revealed on the ''Discograffiti'' podcast that the EP's title was a reference to Nastanovich's beer preferences, since his tastes typically went towards low-alcohol American beer brands.

Legacy

"Texas Never Whispers" was sampled by

Placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...

for their song "Slave to the Wage" from their 2000 album '' Black Market Music''. It was also recorded by

Deadsy Deadsy is an American industrial rock band from Los Angeles. The band is known for its visual appearance and unique musical style the band self-describes as "undercore". The band has released two major studio albums. The band was initially sig ...

for their debut demo in 1995. "Frontwards" has been covered by both Cardiff-based indie-pop band

Los Campesinos! Los Campesinos! are a seven-piece indie pop band from Cardiff, Wales, formed in early 2006 at Cardiff University. The band has seen several lineup changes– lead vocalist Gareth David Paisey and guitarists Neil Turner and Tom Bromley are the o ...

and

Hamilton Leithauser James Hamilton Leithauser (born April 15, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the lead vocalist of the American indie rock band The Walkmen, with whom he wrote and recorded seven studio albums from 2000 to 2 ...

. "Shoot the Singer (1 Sick Verse)" is often covered live by

Yoni Wolf Jonathan Avram "Yoni" Wolf (born April 30, 1979) is an American alternative hip hop and indie rock musician and co-founder of the record label Anticon. From 1997 until 2004, Wolf released music under the stage name Why?. In 2004 he transferred ...

of the band Why?.

Track listing

Personnel

Pavement

– guitar, lead vocals *

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 ...

– guitar, backing vocals * Gary Young – drums *

– percussion, backing vocals *

– bass guitar

Technical

* Thom Williams – art direction * Stephen Myers – photography

References

Pavement (band) EPs 1992 EPs {{1990s-indie-rock-album-stub