Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

Crooked Rain strips away the hiss and fog of it's predecessor S&E, removing some of indie band Pavement's mystery yet retaining their fractured sound and spirit. It's filled with loose ends and ragged transitions, but compared to the fuzzy, dense Slanted , Crooked Rain is direct and immediately engaging - it puts the band's casual melodicism, sprawling squalls of feedback, disheveled country-rock, and Stephen Malkmus' deft wordplay in sharp relief.