(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Wed 10 December 2025 23:00, UK
Despite having emerged at a time when the shape of indie music was undergoing significant change, nobody could really have predicted the rise to cult status and darlings of the scene that Pavement would become, not least the band themselves.
Often known as slacker rock gods, there was something a little unusual and off-kilter about them on their earliest releases, blending together elements of scrappy noise rock, punk and the faintest touches of grunge. However, this wasn’t just a calculated attempt to hit as many different styles at once and see what stuck – Pavement were genuinely passionate about everything they seemingly touched.
If this same scattergun approach worked for Pixies and Sonic Youth, then why couldn’t it work for another band shortly after? The only question that remained was if it was possible to repeat these success stories with such ease, as both were evidently the sorts of bands who only come along every once in a while, and in order to be seen as a completely different prospect to the others who paved the way for them, Pavement would have to pull out all the stops.
Luckily, they had more to offer than a simple rehash of ideas that had come before them, and over the course of five albums in the 1990s, the band were able to not only become the next in a line of cult heroes, but a genuinely influential act who are still beloved in the same way as their aforementioned peers were.
What could have got in the way of their ascent was their inability to get along, and while guitarists Stephen Malkmus and Scott ‘Spiral Stairs’ Kannberg managed to stick things out until the end and have always maintained a strong relationship, they had a rotating cast of drummers early on in the band’s existence who could have significantly jeopardised their ability to gain positive attention.
Many think of Steve West as the primary drummer in the band, having performed on four of their five albums and been part of all subsequent reunions, but on their debut, Slanted and Enchanted, it was Gary Young who took place behind the kit. With a reputation for being a loose cannon who was tough to tame, Young’s time in the band was only brief before he was dismissed in favour of West.
However, he’d already got himself removed from the band on one occasion a few years prior, and had it not been for another lunatic whom they chose to hire in his place, he wouldn’t have appeared on their debut either.
After the release of their debut EP, 1989’s Slay Tracks: 1933-1969, Young was axed and replaced by Jason Turner, but his tenure in the band was even more short-lived than either of Young’s spells with the group. He and Malkmus didn’t get along particularly well, to say the least, and after one tour and a few recording sessions that only led to the release of the deep cut ‘Forklift’, Young was suddenly asked back into the band.
Malkmus would later discuss Turner in Larry Crane’s book, Tape Op, calling him “his depressed guy who might assassinate me one day,” adding, “he’s very competitive.”
This clash of personalities could have easily driven apart one of the greatest modern American bands before they’d even had their chance in the spotlight, and if it wasn’t for Young’s willingness to return for a second time, Slanted and Enchanted may never have been made.
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