Brighten the Corners

Brighten the Corners
Studio album by Pavement
Released	February 11, 1997
Recorded	July 15–30, 1996, Piedmont Triad Studio[1]
Genre	Indie rock
Length	46:10
Label	Matador Records/Capitol Records (original 1997 US release) Matador Records (1999 US reissue) Domino Records (UK) Rough Trade Records (Germany) Flying Nun Records (New Zealand)
Producer	Pavement, Bryce Goggin, Mitch Easter
Pavement chronology
Wowee Zowee (1995) Brighten the Corners (1997) Terror Twilight (1999)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Pitchfork Media	(8.6/10) [3]
Robert Christgau	A [4]
Rolling Stone	(Very favorable) [5]

Brighten the Corners is the fourth studio album released by Pavement. All songs were written by lead singer Stephen Malkmus, apart from "Date with Ikea" and "Passat Dream". The title is likely a reference to Ella Fitzgerald's Brighten the Corner, or to the 1957 Thelonious Monk album, Brilliant Corners. It is also the only Pavement album to feature a full lyric sheet.

Track listing

All songs written by Stephen Malkmus, unless otherwise noted.

1. "Stereo" - 3:07
2. "Shady Lane / J vs. S" - 3:50
3. "Transport Is Arranged" - 3:52
4. "Date with IKEA" - 2:39 (Scott Kannberg)
5. "Old to Begin" - 3:22
6. "Type Slowly" - 5:20
7. "Embassy Row" - 3:51
8. "Blue Hawaiian" - 3:33
9. "We Are Underused" - 4:12
10. "Passat Dream" - 3:51 (Scott Kannberg)
11. "Starlings of the Slipstream" - 3:08
12. "Fin" - 5:24 (Listed as "Infinite Spark" on non-US pressings)

Personnel

• Stephen Malkmus: Vocals, Guitar
• Bob Nastanovich: Percussion, Vocals
• Scott Kannberg: Vocals, Guitar
• Steve West: Drums, Percussion
• Mark Ibold: Bass

• Mitch Easter: engineer, mixing
• Bryce Goggin: engineer, mixing

Chart positions

Singles

Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition

Matador Records released an expanded 2CD edition of this album under the title Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition on December 9, 2008.^[11] It contains the band's fourth album, Brighten the Corners (1997) in its entirety, as well as 32 of the band's other songs from that era, 18 of which were previously unreleased. The initial pre-order offer from Matador Records also included the band's previously unreleased live album, Live Europaturnén MCMXCVII on 12" vinyl.

Professional ratings
Nicene Creedence Edition
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Entertainment Weekly	(A) link
Rolling Stone	link
Pitchfork Media	(8.7/10) link
The Phoenix	link
PopMatters	link

Track listing

Disc One

Brighten the Corners

1. "Stereo"

2. "Shady Lane / J Vs. S"

3. "Transport Is Arranged"

4. "Date w/ IKEA"

5. "Old to Begin"

6. "Type Slowly"

7. "Embassy Row"

8. "Blue Hawaiian"

9. "We Are Underused"

10. "Passat Dream"

11. "Starlings of the Slipstream"

12. "Fin"

Brighten The Corners outtakes

13. "And Then (The Hexx)" (Originally released as the b-side to "Spit on a Stranger" (OLE-384-7) in May 1999, but presented here is the unedited full version, previously unreleased. It was initially planned to be the opening track to Brighten the Corners.)

14. "Beautiful as a Butterfly"

15. "Cataracts"

Stereo single

16. "Westie Can Drum"

17. "Winner of the"

18. "Birds in the Majic Industry" (previously unreleased full length vocal version)

Spit on a Stranger single (included here since both were recorded and mixed during Brighten the Corners sessions)

19. "Harness Your Hopes"

20. "Roll with the Wind"

Disc Two

Shady Lane single

1. "Slowly Typed"

2. "Cherry Area"

3. "Wanna Mess You Around"

4. "No Tan Lines"

BBC Radio One Evening Session, January 15, 1997

5. "And Then (The Hexx)" (previously unreleased)

6. "Harness Your Hopes" (previously unreleased)

7. "The Killing Moon" (released on Major Leagues EP)

8. "Winner of the" (previously unreleased)

Brighten The Corners outtakes

9. "Embassy Row Psych Intro" (previously unreleased)

10. "Nigel" (previously unreleased)

11. "Chevy (Old to Begin)" (previously unreleased mix)

12. "Roll with the Wind (Roxy)" (previously unreleased mix)

God Save The Clean: A Tribute to the Clean, Flying Nun Records compilation

13. "Odditty"

Tibetan Freedom Concert compilation

14. "Type Slowly" (live)

KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic, February 25, 1997

15. "Neil Hagerty Meets Jon Spencer in a Non-Alcoholic Bar" (previously unreleased)

16. "Destroy Mater Dei" (previously unreleased)

17. "It’s A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl"

18. "Maybe Maybe"

BBC Radio One John Peel Live Session, August 21, 1997

19. "Date w/ IKEA" (previously unreleased)

20. "Fin" (previously unreleased)

21. "Grave Architecture" (previously unreleased)

22. "The Classical" (released on Major Leagues EP)

WFNX Studios, February 12, 1997

23. "Space Ghost Theme I" (previously unreleased)

24. "Space Ghost Theme II" (previously unreleased)

References