PAVEMENT Slanted And Enchanted: Luxe And Reduxe (Matador) Rating: NNNNN Rating: NNNNN
You know the indie rock nation has reached old age when the reissues of seminal albums begin. Snarky and shambolic, Slanted And Enchanted proved that indie pop with questionable tuning could be as catchy and memorable as its slicker contemporaries. A decade after its release and with Pavement long gone, it’s good to know that tracks like Zurich Is Stained and Summer Babe don’t sound as antiquated as, say, those old albums clogging up your closet. Matador wisely understood that gussying up the deliberately ramshackle original sessions with a fancy remastering job seems beside the point. So the two-disc anniversary issue of Slanted And Enchanted is instead stacked with extra material, including two Peel sessions and a live gig at Brixton Academy that were only available on pricey bootlegs, as well as outtakes from the original sessions and the excellent Watery, Domestic EP. Sure, it’s a cash grab — a Pavement DVD is also due later this year — but it’s worth it.
