TIM HOWE
“WHO THE FUCK said my band sounds like pavement,” Cool American’s Nathan Tucker tweeted on July 11, “i’ll fight them.”
Fair enough. For two decades now, ’90s heroes Pavement have had an outsized influence on indie rock, with Stephen Malkmus’ prickly licks and pouty lines living on in seemingly every new guitar-pop group. Bands are understandably leery of the comparison.
Whether Tucker likes it or not, You Can Win a Few—Cool American’s new album on Portland label Good Cheer Records—does have its share of Pavement-y sounds. But here’s the interesting thing: It’s not necessarily Malkmus’ Pavement that courses through these songs, but Scott Kannberg’s.