Pavement-Slanted And Enchanted

Artist: Pavement
Album: Slanted And Enchanted
Label: Matador
Year: 1992

I want to qualify everything I'm about to say with two things. The first is that I don't think this record is perfect, and it falls short in the same way Murmur does, where the last bit of the record just doesn't match up to the rest of it. Also, this is my favorite Pavement record...as I just don't see what the big deal about the rest of their stuff is.
Slanted is the indie record of the decade, for sure. Slacker, cool, relaxed, sloppy, beautiful pop. There isn't much indie music from the 90s that doesn't owe something to this record. Lo-fi as fuck as well, this album is a great template. And it starts off so well. "Summer Babe" and "Trigger Cut" are a superb one-two punch of pop bliss and get me in such a good mood whenever I hear them.
Even when they turn it up a notch, such as on the third track "No Life Singed Her" they still rock out hard and do well. In fact, most of side one plays on the band's strengths of oddball pop songs played sloppy as fuck but with catchy as hell hooks. Even the Fall rip-off "Conduit For Sale" is memorable (though it's lifted from "New Face In Hell" in both music and lyrical delivery). It ends with the weirdo "Chesley's Little Wrists" and you're feeling great. Seriously, side one is great.
"Loretta's Scars" pick up side two with brilliance. The best song of the album, easily, it is the band's best song! And the next few songs on side two are great follow-ups to the stuff that is done on side one (though "Two States" is a bit stupid..."Perfume-V" makes up for it!)
However, the album gets to the point here where it loses steam. "Fame Throwa" and "Jackals, False Grails" are good, but not exceptional, and with songwriting and song feel, they've already been done. "Our Singer" is a nice enough song, but would've fit in better with side one and one of those superior slower songs could've been later on.
Pavement are a massively overrated with a damn great first record. And you've just read how I feel about it.