[.ca] Westing

Warning: This collection is not for fans of high-fidelity music. Pavement's early days were marred by murk; call it the limitation of the early days of any band, but nobody in the early '90s wanted this sound. Pavement seized it, wrapped it up in enigmatic packages, and soon a cult following was born. Westing (by Musket and Sextant) captures several early 7-inches and EPs for a look back at Pavement's gestation. All the essential elements are here, from Stephen Malkmus's beyond-bebop lyricism to white-heat guitars that sound like they're coming from the dark side of an Edison cylinder. Anyone swayed by the last couple of Pavement albums may not enjoy this collection unless they also appreciate edgy acts like the Fall and Swell Maps. It sounds quite tinny and one may wonder if there's anything on Westing that resembles a radio-ready hit. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? --Jason Josephes

for obsessive Pavement fans only:
Unfortunately I fall into this group. This cd sounds to me like a band had to put something out in order to fulfill a record contract, I'm not suggesting anything like that, just sounds like that. Pavement just happens to be such an incredible band it is better than a lot of bands albums period. Being a home recording enthusiast, I found it pretty interesting, but for the average music fan, I don't know if it will be liked.

Pavement at their rawest:
'Westing' is a collection of all of Pavement's low-fidelity early singles and EP's, which are all a lot more dirtier and less melodic than the bands later material. Infact, this album is so dirty, I really can't imagine anything else that has been recorded so ... badly. Pavement walks the fine tightrope between barely audible and musical genius like never before. Underneath the dirt and grime lie some of Pavement's best songs, however if you're a stickler for hi-fi quality, you're not going to find anything to like. Myself, while I do like the cleaner sounding stuff, I had no problem with 'Westing' and loved every grit-filled minute of it. If you jumped on the Pavement train with 'Slanted & Enchanted' or anything after that, you need to buy a return ticket and pick up 'Westing' to see what you have been missing all this time.

• You're Killing Me
• Box Elder
• Maybe, Maybe
• She Believes
• Price Yeah!
• Forklift
• Spizzle Trunk
• Recorder Grot
• Internal K-Dart
• Perfect Depth
• Recorder Grot (Rally)
• Heckler Spray
• From Now On
• Angel Carver Blues/Mellow Jazz Docent
• Drive by Fader
• Debris Slide
• Home
• Krell Vid-User
• Summer Babe \oWinter Version\c
• Mercy: The Laundromat
• Baptiss Blacktick
• My First Mine
• My Radio