The best album Pavement ever made, according to Stephen Malkmus
Pavement’s *Slanted and Enchanted* is the album Stephen Malkmus considers the band’s best, crediting its timing and its flaws as part of its appeal. Released in 1992, it helped turn the loosely organised California group into one of the most influential indie bands of the decade.
Recorded in January 1991, the debut took 15 months to reach shops, during a period when underground rock was gaining wider attention after Nirvana’s breakthrough. Its unconventional songs, including ‘Summer Babe (Winter Version)’, earned strong critical praise and unusually high sales for an independent release. Malkmus described Pavement’s records as driven more by attitude and style than polish.
- Stephen Malkmus picked *Slanted and Enchanted* as Pavement’s best album.
- Its rough edges were part of its appeal.
- The 1992 debut became a landmark indie release.
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Pavement were an American independent rock band formed in California in the late 1980s, with Stephen Malkmus as singer and guitarist. Their loose, rough-edged sound stood apart from the polished rock production common in the early 1990s.
Their debut, Slanted and Enchanted, was recorded in 1991 and released the following year, as alternative rock was reaching a much wider audience. Its critical acclaim and strong sales for an independent record helped establish Pavement as an influential band of the decade.