Stephen Malkmus says it would be “total cringe” for Pavement to release new music
Musically, 2022 has been a great year. Following the full return of live music, we’ve had the chance to see some of our favourite artists, with one of the undoubted highlights being the long-awaited return of alternative rock legends, Pavement. The band have toured relentlessly, regaling us with a mixture of obscure fan favourites and more popular songs. One thing is obvious to anyone lucky enough to catch them: the band still has it.
Whilst the slacker rock pioneers might be on top form in the live arena, new music might be a stretch too far. In a recent interview with NME, frontman Stephen Malkmus discussed the possibility of putting out new music, saying it would be “total cringe”.
During the interview, Malkmus and guitarist Scott Kannberg discussed reuniting the band and how they view their legacy, and it seems they’re content with it as it is, with new music “not happening”.
“It’d be total cringe if we [wrote new music],” Malkmus said. “No way. These songs are good, they exist in this present. There’s no point. That’s just me, anyone can do what they want. It’s your life, choose your adventure. If any band wants to make a new album, they like to do that, that’s totally rad. But, yeah, not happening.”
The enigmatic frontman continued: “We’re real without doing that, you know? I understand the impetus to put out a new record — it makes it sound like the band’s more legit or something, and not just like a cash-in deal. But it doesn’t have to be that way if you just own your songs.”
Despite Pavement not releasing new music, they have found a multitude of ways to keep things fresh. As well as their social media accounts being drenched in self-aware meme culture, this year, they reissued the Terror Twilight LP and Spit on a Stranger EP. They also jumped into the world of TikTok, with ‘Harness Your Hopes’ going viral, which led to them eventually making a new music video for it starring Sophie Thatcher.
