The Major Leagues EP is like a very sad will to one of indie rock’s proudest sons. The album is in no way disappointing, but it shows a band at the end of it’s time. Rather than release a faltering new CD, Pavement take the words of Nirvana legend Kurt Cobain to heart and “Burn out” with a 7 song EP of demos, covers and new tracks. As a CD ML is in no way Pavement’s best work, but a very interesting bit of music in its own right. The CD features a cover of the Killing Moon by Echo and the Bunnymen as well as two versions of Terror Twilight staple Major Leagues, one, an edit and the other a demo. While the song (Major Leagues) is in no way my favorite Pavement song it’s enjoyable and fairly well written. The demo version features Steven Malkmus’ emotionally destroyed vocals over an acoustic guitar and synthesizer. It brings a more lo-fi twang to a slightly over produced era of Pavement and reminds me heartily of Slanted and Enchanted (Pavement’s legendary debut LP). The other is essentially the Terror Twilight version, a more elegant, depressing version of the demo, with a glossier vocal job, grand piano and the same sad acoustic. Both songs obviously take center stage on the EP, but there are better works.
The slightly detached twang of Decouvert de Soleil is one. This song is perhaps the epitome of nerd rock. The French spoken word verses only make it more kick ass, but the catchy chorus is what does it for me. Though it is the shortest tune on the CD Soleil is very entertaining and continues a string of Lo-fi gold. Like most Pavement music most of the stuff on this EP has a tendency to drag, but doesn’t disappoint. The final track, The Classical (a cover originally done by the Fall), is a fitting end for a brilliant band; the sprawling slightly drunk track almost demands a flash back montage of sorts in the brain. The EP ends without a hitch in what one could call Pavement’s noisiest moment and after 22 minutes of class indie rock I could not think of a better end to a career or an album. Overall it is in no way a must have, but some songs will soon become sentimental favorites of mine. Major Leagues features some cool songs, but nothing new to Pavement. Though they hit the needle on the head with their cover of The Killing Moon, this CD doesn’t deserve anything more than a 3/5. Nice work boys.
-Joe.
