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Terror Twilight

 
Album Review: Terror Twilight

  • Artist: Pavement
  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: June 08, 1999
  • Type: Enhanced CD-ROM
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Since Pavement switched course with each record -- Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain was nothing like Slanted & Enchanted, and Brighten the Corners was decidedly different from the brilliant, warped Wowee Zowee -- it's a little disarming to realize that Terror Twilight merely deepens the sound of its predecessor. Guitars burst to the forefront every so often -- most notably on the dense jam "Platform Blues" and the shouted choruses of "Billie" -- yet they're usually used as texture. Nothing rocks hard and "The Hexx," which was heard on the Brighten tour as a metallic epic, has been transformed into a surrealistic dream, reminiscent of the Velvet Underground's "Ocean." That's typical of Terror Twilight -- it's reflective, with the occasional flight of fancy that fits neatly into the laid-back flow. It's also the tightest record Pavement ever made, largely due to producer Nigel Godrich, who helped reign in excessive tendencies in Radiohead and Beck and does the same here. The band still sounds like Pavement -- their loping interplay is unmistakable -- and Stephen Malkmus' songs are typically dense and literate, yet they're easier to digest. That, along with the lack of Spiral Stairs songs, gives Terror Twilight a cohesion missing even on earlier Pavement albums, no matter how great they were. All the focus makes the album feel a little less like Pavement -- after all, this is a band whose imperfections were among their most endearing qualities -- and a bit more like Malkmus' first solo album, which it essentially is. Though it's hard not to miss the gloriously messy sprawl of Pavement at their peak, this carefully crafted, languid recasting of their signature sound is effective and winds up as a fitting, bittersweet farewell for the best band of the '90s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Spit on a Stranger Stephen Malkmus Pavement (3:04)
Folk Jam Pavement (3:34)
You Are a Light Pavement (3:54)
Cream of Gold Pavement (3:47)
Major Leagues Pavement (3:24)
Platform Blues Pavement (4:42)
Ann Don't Cry Pavement (4:09)
Billie Pavement (3:44)
Speak, See, Remember Pavement (4:19)
The Hexx Pavement (5:39)
Carrot Rope Pavement Pavement (3:52)

Credits

Pavement (Main Performer), Steve West (?), Stephen Malkmus (Guitar (Electric)), Stephen Malkmus (Vocals), Stephen Malkmus (?), Bob Nastanovich (?), Mark Ibold (?), Spike Jonze (Director), Scott Kannberg (?), Lance Bangs (Director)
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Wikipedia: Terror Twilight
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Terror Twilight
Studio album by Pavement
Released June 8, 1999
Recorded June–December 1998
Genre Rock
Length 44:08
Label Matador
Producer Pavement
Professional reviews
Pavement chronology
Brighten the Corners
(1997)
Terror Twilight
(1999)
Slanted and Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe
(2002)

Terror Twilight is the fifth and final studio album released by Pavement. It was recorded by Nigel Godrich and featured Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead playing harmonica on the songs "Platform Blues" and "Billie".

Bob Nastanovich came up with the title, and has revealed the meaning of it in several interviews: "Terror Twilight is the short span between sunset and dusk; this is considered the most dangerous time in traffic, because half of the people switch on the headlights, and the other half doesn't. It's when most accidents happen" (he can be seen explaining this during a British radio interview on the group's Slow Century DVD). (cf. Blue hour.) According to Matador Records the 2 disc re-release of the album will be in 2010.

Contents

Track listing

  1. "Spit on a Stranger" – 3:04
  2. "Folk Jam" – 3:34
  3. "You Are a Light" – 3:54
  4. "Cream of Gold" – 3:47
  5. "Major Leagues" – 3:24
  6. "Platform Blues" – 4:42
  7. "Ann Don't Cry" – 4:09
  8. "Billie" – 3:44
  9. "Speak, See, Remember" – 4:19
  10. "The Hexx" – 5:39
  11. "Carrot Rope" – 3:52

Initial UK copies of the album came with a bonus CD-Rom which contained the whole album with a brief track-by-track commentary; film of Stephen Malkmus writing this - and calling for the help of his fellow bandmembers in the doing so - can be seen on the Slow Century DVD. The disc also contained the videos for "Stereo" and "Shady Lane" from their previous album Brighten the Corners and a home movie segment containing some footage also seen in the Slow Century DVD.

Trivia

  • The progressive bluegrass band Nickel Creek covered Terror Twilight's first single, "Spit on a Stranger" on their 2002 album, This Side.
  • The album's original title was Farewell Horizontal until Bob Nastanovich complained. He later explained that "there was no way I was going to be on the Farewell Horizontal tour for the next year."

Singles/EPs

References

  1. ^ Collins, Andrew. "Review: Pavement - Terror Twilight". Q (EMAP Metro Ltd) (July 1999): 122. 

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Terror Twilight" Read more