Tuneful without being soft, confident without being pompous, hip without being inaccesible, CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN was a huge leap for Pavement up the rock & roll evolution cycle. They may have gained some pop smarts, but a casual listen to the dissonant guitar solo of "Cut Your Hair" proves that the seeds planted with 1989's first SLAY TRACKS EP have come to their logical fruition.