Pitchfork

Matador got me. Somehow, the folks at the New York label understood that if they packaged a new Pavement single with four bonus tracks and released it a week before the band's forthcoming album, Terror Twilight was due, they could convince some poor sod wandering through his local disc store to spring the fiver for the disc. And that's roughly how I became that poor sod. Now, I realize that no one ever got famous reviewing singles, and as I struggle to figure out just what possessed me to start, I also am beginning to realize why. But at the expense of my future fame, I continue, simply because that fateful bill just may have been the best five bucks I've ever spent.

Frontman Steve Malkmus has been busy since the release of Brighten the Corners, assisting old friend DC Berman on last year's splendid Silver Jews American Water release, and teaming with Silkworm to tear through a set of "Basement Tapes" covers as the Crust Brothers. On this EP's five tracks, he applies what he learned from the experiences, stripping down to Berman's straightforward simplicity on "Harness Your Hopes" and copping The Band's pastoral swagger on "Rooftop Gambler." Though "The Porpoise and the Hand Grenade" clearly needed more time on the mixing board, "Roll With the Wind" makes up for the shortfall, making the disc worth the dollars on its merit alone.

"Spit On a Stranger," the album's first single, finds the band at its shiftily sweetest and is more than enough to assuage even the most ardent Pavement fan's fears regarding Nigel Godrich's production hand. Rather than drown the band's signature lo-fi sound, Godrich revels in it, capturing something a bit cleaner than Brighten the Corners, and providing a mouth- watering appetizer to next week's main course. See you at the record store!