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- Summary: Pavement's Scott Kannberg returns to music as Spiral Stairs after a five-year hiatus.
- Record Label: Matador
- Genre(s): Indie, Rock
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 4 out of 15
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Mixed: 11 out of 15
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Negative: 0 out of 15
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Pavement fans expecting similar lo-fi experimentation may be disappointed with The Real Feel, but anyone who appreciates organically structured rock songs should love this album.
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It’s also one of the best-sounding records of 2009, with a simple, clean style and plenty of piano, banjo, and pedal steel to flesh out the dynamics.
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There is not much on The Real Feel that is daring or new in terms of musical explorations, but the emotionally energetic vocals and intestinal fortitude of the lyrics coupled with the honesty and the understated transcendence of the songs is quite alluring.
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The Real Feel is a solid step in the right direction, both sonically and lyrically.
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For the first solo album under his nom de tune, Scott Kannberg eschews the catchy cacophony of his earlier bands--Pavement and Preston School of Industry--for breezily quirky '70s country-pop and late-'60s psychedelia that's two parts Lindsey Buckingham and one part Roky Erickson.
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The music is a clear step up from his nadir on Monsoon, but it's only a lateral move in terms of quality compared to the first two Preston School releases.
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Q MagazineSadly, anybody hoping for Pavement's off-kilter melody and cryptic lyrics will be disappointed. [Dec 2009, p. 126]