Album Review: Spiral Stairs - We Wanna Be Hyp-No-Tized

Hardcore Pavement fans just can't help but root for their old buddy Spiral Stairs, but at the same time, we're not really sure why we keep doing it. Maybe it's because we've become accustomed to hearing his endearingly-whatever songs like Hit The Plane Down or Two States whenever we put on our favourite Pavement albums. Or maybe it's because Scott Kannberg seems like a genuinely lovely man who played a quiet yet crucial role in the mythology of our favourite band.

His fifth album (if you count his stint as leader of Preston School Of Industry), We Wanna Be Hyp-No-Tized, picks up right where 2017's Doris & The Daggers left off. So yeah, another mix of indie-rock and Kannberg's love of early post-punk like The Fall and Swell Maps. The lyrics, when you can make them out, are mostly plain and inoffensive, with a bit of Stephen Malkmus alliteration here and there. Some of the production can be quite exciting though, especially the big moments that feature brass or keys. But just like his previous two solo albums, it's the addition of tacked-on lead guitar riffs that distract the listener from any quality vocal melodies that might be bouncing around in the space of the songs. But Scott, if you do truly love creating music like you say you do, keep on keepin' on, man.