Pavement’s back—again. After briefly reuniting in 2010, we were sure that would be the last time we’d get to see one of the most influential indie rock bands of the 1990s. But perhaps they knew how much we needed a comeback, because now we’re getting another reunion tour—their second after calling it quits in 1999. This news comes after Pavement was set to perform at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound festival last year—touted as a one-off reunion—but the festival was rescheduled for 2022. The band is still slated to play Primavera Sound as part of this tour.
Sadly for us American fans, those 2022 dates only include Europe and the U.K., but the press release promises there are “more live dates and announcements to follow” so we’re hoping that means we’ll get a proper tour this side of the globe, too. Getting to see Pavement on tour would be fantastic, but we’re fixated on the “announcements to follow” portion of the press release. Don’t expect any new music from the reunion, however. “We’re just doing the live shows,” Malkmus told NME. “I just think we should try and be like the 1990s—that’s the goal, and to the best of my ability, tap into the vibe of what the band was. It’s pretty much just pure nostalgia in my mind, but I want to try and get that right.”
While we have no idea what new Pavement would sound like in 2021, it wouldn’t feel too strange. After all, we have indie darlings like Beabadoobee making hit records highly inspired by Pavement (and, in Beabadoobee’s case, she even has a song dedicated to Malkmus), so what better time to release a Pavement record Plus, perhaps a new song could dethrone B-side “Harness Your Hopes” as the band’s top song on Spotify. The deep cut inexplicably became the band’s number one song on the streaming platform, beating out fan favorites like “Gold Soundz” and “Cut Your Hair.”