Don't let anyone who says every Pavement album is worth owning tell you that you don't need Archers of Loaf's final two albums. Til the end, these sorta-similar Carolina boys were riffier, hookier, and took their sound to farther places. To wit, the best songs on albums three and four are a creaky Waits-piano ballad ("Chumming the Oceans") and an electronic folktale that pre-dates Kid A ("White Trash Heroes"), respectively. Yet their surroundings sacrificed no rock ("Fashion Bleeds") or eyes-on-the-prize melody ("Bones of Her Hands"). Airports hilariously contains AoL's most Pavement-like song ("Gold Soundz" will turn red at "Scenic Pastures") among its Mancini-like instrumentals and suite-like segues. White Trash Heroes's goofier tangents, like the vocoded chorus of "One Slight Wrong Move," have aged surprisingly well. And if fans are wondering whether to rebuy for the incredible unreleased "Density" and "Little Jets," ask Nirvana fans if they needed "You Know You're Right."
