Who Scares, Wins

It's amazing to think that Terror Twilight, the fifth album from American indie legends Pavement, is their first time recording on 24 tracks.

This, allied to the presence of Radiohead, Beck and Travis producer Nigel Godrich on knob-twiddling duties, makes for their most polished album to date. Any lazy lo-fi labels which remain after 1997's brilliant Brighten The Corners should be laid to rest, here. Pavement haven't sold out, though, they've just sandpapered the edges somewhat.

Stephen Malkmus' vocals may be more distinct than ever, but his lyrics remain just as obtuse and Terror Twilight is filled with all sorts of wonderful, exotic characters, from fortune tellers to "gypsy children in electric dresses".

'Spit On A Stranger' is surely a single waiting to happen, with its gently, slightly folky melody and lovely harmonies. Nigel Godrich has done a good job in ironing out some of Pavement's quirkier corners, and on 'Cream Of Gold' even the discord sounds slightly cleaner than of yore.

'(Bring On The) Major Leagues' is as close to a conventional love song as they have written, even if Malkmus does insist to his lover that "You kiss like a rock", while 'Anne' is possibly their most straightforward lyric to date.

Then there's the blusterous boogie and shambolic shuffle of 'Platform Blues' or the loose swing of 'Speak See Remember' to get your head around before 'The Hexx'. The sparse, eerie guitar and nightmarish lyrics give the Black Sabbath-inspired track a palpable sense of brooding malevolence.

Cleaner but not necessarily clearer than before, Pavement have created an album of sprawling beauty that, while not exactly mainstream, sees them take their first steps beyond the cult heroes status they have enjoyed for so long.