In 1999, indie rock fans discovered the inevitable: Pavement was breaking up. They'd had a great run, producing some of the most clever, complicated, and flat-out noisy rock for a full decade, but they seemed to have burned out. Fortunately, with a good deal of time, they appear to have patched things up. The band is back together and heading out on tour, so grab Pavement tickets while you can.
Pavement formed in 1989 in Stockton, CA, and just a few years later released their debut record, Slanted and Enchanted. The album wouldn't earn notice beyond the underground rock scene—a pattern that would come to define the band's entire career, always on the verge of spilling into the mainstream, but not finding an audience there (which ultimately seemed to suit them just fine).
Pavement's loud, messy rock songs and frontman Stephen Malkmus' irony-steeped lyrics would come to define the sound of indie-rock in the mid-'90s, and become an essential influence for bands that came after them. In 2009, the band decided to reunite after spending years apart. Concert tickets won't last long for their tours from here on out, so buy them while you can.