PAVEMENT Slay Tracks 7" DEBUT SINGLE ON TREBLE KICKER

$

170

PAVEMENT "Slay Tracks: 1933 - 1969" - their debut 7". Released as Treble Kicker TK001 in 1989. This is copy #229 of 1000 pressed.

The sleeve, insert and vinyl are in NEAR MINT condition

Revered and reviled (both, generally, Pavement formed in Stockton, California, in 1989 as a studio project of guitarists and vocalists Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg, known originally only as "S.M." and "Spiral Stairs," respectively. Their debut EPs were extremely lo-fi releases titled Slay Tracks (1933-1969), Demolition Plot J-7, and Perfect Sound Forever. They were recorded at Louder Than You Think, the home studio of infamous Stockton local and former hippie Gary Young. The eccentric and aging hipster also provided drums. Upon first hearing the duo's songs, Young was quoted as saying, "this Malkmus idiot is a complete songwriting genius." [1]

Pavement's most obvious influence during this time was English rock band The Fall, although Kannberg stated in a 1992 interview that he preferred The Replacements to The Fall. [2] The Fall's primary member, Mark E. Smith, would often angrily claim through the years that Pavement was a "rip-off" of his band [3] and that they didn't "have an original idea in their heads." [4] However, some of the other members of The Fall actually enjoyed Pavement. [5]

Around 1992 Pavement became a full-time band, with the addition of bassist Mark Ibold - who had been one of the band's first fans - and extra percussionist Bob Nastanovich (a fellow museum security guard along with Malkmus and David Berman) to help Young keep time. Their debut album, Slanted and Enchanted, was released commercially in 1992 after being circulated among critics and tastemakers for nearly a year, and became an instant indie classic. Though the percussive influence of The Fall was still pervasive (as was that of English post punks the Swell Maps), many of the songs also exhibited a strong sense of melody. The following year, the band released the EP Watery, Domestic, which represented a balance between their earlier and later styles.