Spiral Stairs – The Real Feel

“Ladies and gentlemen, Spiral Stairs.”In 'Slow Century', Spiral Stairs says that growing up, Stephen Malkmus was always the bratty kid and he was the black sheep kid. And that makes sense you know, because of their two intertwined but quite different destinies. Malkmus was / is indie rock's most effortless genius-master of the off-kilter guitar hook and random beat lyric, sarcastic pretty-boy slacker and likeable arsehole of the first order. Spiral Stairs, on the other hand, might have one of the best stage names of all time (certainly beats 'SM' hands-down), but he was always essentially damned by brutal cosmic fate to be Malkmus's dorky younger brother, despite the fact that his songs were often really amazing highlights ('Two States', 'Grounded', 'Date with IKEA'), and early on of course they were always the most directly Fall-aping. This probably sounds snide or something but its not meant to be. In fact, all this is why Spiral Stairs was always the member of Pavement I could most relate to.Since Pavement split, Spiral Stairs has wandered the earth with the Preston School of Industry, named from one his old band's very best unreleased tracks (and one of the best things Spiral himself ever wrote), but now they're back, and so's the old moniker. Ultimately though you don't even need to hear the music to imagine it, you already know what it's like. Now, as ever, would be the time for Spiral Stairs to release a definitive musical statement, one that places him up there, on his own, with Malkmus, as a songwriter, a brilliantly-crafted pop LP where every song's a big hit and everything breathes what made his songs with Pavement special. Like a sort of non-crap George Harrison releasing All Things Must Pass (and before you say anything, George fans, let's face it, Paul WAS better, I mean I know 'Yesterday' was a bit maudlin but its got nothing on 'Something', urgh, and personally no matter how horribly lame 'Hey Jude' is its made up for by 'Eleanor Rigby' and everything else in a way that 'Taxman' alone just can't make up for 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'). Instead, it just sounds kind of alt-country, so really you don't need this record, because it doesn't really fundamentally change what Spiral Stairs 'is'. He's still just the second guy from Pavement.That's not to say that this is a bad record, because it's not. 'Maltese T' for example is a very good song. But, you know, 'very good' isn't magic. I get to go see Pavement next year though, how's that for an ennui-beater?

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