Track Listing

1. Stereo
2. Shady Lane
3. Transport Is Arranged
4. Date With Ikea
5. Old to Begin
6. Type Slowly
7. Embassy Row
8. Blue Hawaiian
9. We Are Underused
10. Passat Dream
11. Starlings of the Slipstream
12. Fin

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22244 in Music
• Released on: 1999-06-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued

Album Description
1997 release 'Brighten The Corners' is a record that reveals its gifts gradually, giving you enough information the first time to make you want come back for more. Matador Records.

Amazon.com
Even before it totally kicks in, Brighten the Corners displays a sense of improvement over the listless, shapeless Wowee Zowee. A few simple musical touches like Mellotron strokes and ever-developing vocal harmonies open up Pavement's sound without carrying them off into overly textured snooziness. While this is often cited as Pavement's "domestic" record--several members got married around the time of its creation--its songs more often evince puzzlement than McCartneyish delight with family matters. And as always, Pavement is buzzed about rock; the album's final song is called "Fin" not so much in homage to French film as in rhythm to the marching cadence of Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk."--Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

How to conquer suburbia
I tend to think of both "Crooked Rain" and this disc as "suburban," but in opposite ways. "Crooked Rain" is largely about growing up in a suburb, feeling out-of-place amongst the daily scramble, and ultimately finding shelter in some kind of escape (although "Fillmore Jive" shows that rock n roll isn't necessarily the answer either). This one seems to be about returning to the suburbs as an adult, and coming to terms with it even if it isn't ideal. There are interesting cultural references in these songs which make it clear what Malkmus had on his mind or was observing at this time- see song titles like "Date with Ikea" (trendy budget furniture) and "Passat Dream" (trendy budget car).

I find myself reaching for this one first when I delve into my Pavement collection. It's subdued and textured, much less raw than the earlier work, and the songs all meld together into what feels like a story. It's about shady lanes and all that, but it's definitely not McCartney's first solo disc (famed for its feeling of "domestic bliss"). Malkmus is still critical of his surroundings, he's just found a way to come to terms with them. A very unique record and, like all of Pavement's work, necessary for a real understanding of 1990s rock n roll.

I'm on the stereo!
"Brighten the Corners" remains Pavement's most settled, accessable rock record, but the band doesn't eschew their musical sound or their indie roots. Rather, they just polish up the howly vocals and multilayered musical arrangements, and the result is pretty mellow and pleasant.

It starts off with the intermittently bombastic "Stereo," before shifting to the mellower "Shady Lane" and uplifted sound of "Transport is Arranged." A more raw sound enters with the fun rockers "Date with IKEA" and lighthearted "Embassy Road," while a plaintive confusion arrives with "Old to Begin." The remaining songs harken back to their indie roots, with the monotone jazziness of "Blue Hawaiian" and the weirdness of "We Are Underused" and "Passat Dream." It ends on a pretty strong note with the vaguely ominous "Fin," in which Malkmus requests, "I trust you will tell me/if I am making a fool of myself..."

"Brighten the Corners" serves to connect the lo-fi scratchiness of their early work to a more polished sound. Sure, there are some cries of "sell-out." But Pavement's sound transfers to the smooth studio sound without losing its complexity or raw magic.

The guitar riffs are as good as ever, starting and stopping one moment, and whirling around Malkmus's vocals the next; the percussion is a solid backdrop. There are also some coy beepy-bleepy snatches of mellotron, as well as what sounds like a wavery flute, giving a feeling of vague vulnerability to the lost-soul-type songs.

Malkmus will never sing in the opera, but his soulful monotone is wonderfully well-suited to the music. The songs themselves have a certain feeling of confusion, as if the world is bewildering and chaotic. "I heard what you said/the leaders are dead/now they're robbing the skies/you can hear the followers cry..."

Pavement was still in solid form in "Brighten the Corners." While it may not be the best, the mix of complex rock and thoughtful singing is enough to make it another budding classic by Pavement.

i don't care what anyone says- it rocks!
what can i say- i love pavement. suffice to say, i didn't really get into them until this album. there is not a bad song to its name, and i find myself singing malkmus' cryptic lyrics from this album more than from any of his others. and if you at least don't find a special place in your heart for "shady lane"- well, then, you're even too cynical for me. stephen malkmus continues to be one of my absolute favorites- even sans pavement with his solo career. he's a genius in the best possible way, and lets you feel like you're in on the joke, too.