SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: VARIOUS ARTISTS – LOUDER THAN YOU THINK: A LO-FI HISTORY OF GARY YOUNG & PAVEMENT (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)

VARIOUS ARTISTS
LOUDER THAN YOU THINK: A LO-FI HISTORY OF GARY YOUNG & PAVEMENT (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)
INDEPENDENT PROJECT RECORDS

In 2023, Gary Young passed away. The original drummer of Pavement has since been the subject of Louder Than You Think: A Lo-Fi History of Gary Young & Pavement, a documentary that explores his life and musical contributions that proved to be foundational to the lo-fi production style that started to take form throughout the ‘90s. Now, for the first time, the official soundtrack for the doc is available via Independent Project Records, featuring contributions from The Authorities, Fall Of Christianity, Hot Spit Dancers, and CRLLL, to name a few, in addition, naturally, to Pavement and Gary Young’s Hospital.

Louder Than You Think: A Lo-Fi History of Gary Young & Pavement opens with an eerie and suspenseful synth orchestration by Edward W. Dahl. “Wink & A Nod” serves as an introduction while also establishing a reoccurring motif as Dahl would continue to appear at varying moments throughout the soundtrack with more synth heavy compositions. While likely serving as a thematic statement underpinned within the documentary, these tracks also serve as pallet cleansers between the barrage of punk rock from the album’s assorted lineup. Entirely made up of synths, there is something cold and clinical to Dahl’s work, providing an experimental and electronic soundscape on three more occasions.

“Achtung!” by The Authorities follows Dahl’s for synth composition, serving as the first taste of punk rock on the soundtrack. The high-octane song sets the tone for what’s to come as the band blast through a relentless and rough lo-fi cut. Returning with “LSD” the contributions from The Authorities mark some of the strongest excluding that of Pavement and Young, which comprise the latter half of the record. From this, there are three live Pavement tracks from May 19th, 1992 – “Baptist Blacktick”, “Lions (Linden)”, and “Summer Babe” – making for an archival highlight. As for Young, his solo tracks, collaborations with Noah Georgeson, and his band, Gary Young’s Hospital range in style and quality, but mostly lean into early ‘60s psychedelia. It’s unique, but it doesn’t break new ground, nor does it serve to justify the creative choice.

While shining a light to the Stockton musical scene of the late ‘80s and ‘90s as a means of tracing Young’s life and influence, Louder Than You Think: A Lo-Fi History of Gary Young & Pavement, without a visual component, suffers from a lack of cohesion. I am certain the tone of the record pairs far better with the subject of the documentary. As an album, Louder Than You Think: A Lo-Fi History of Gary Young & Pavement feels like a disconnected collection of tracks that fails to do justice to the legacy of Young.

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