This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
When slacker-rock gods Pavement cracked apart in 1999, plenty of misguided souls probably though domineering singer-guitarist Stephen Malkmus was the only one we’d hear from again.
Well, imagine our … er, their surprise when co-founder and second guitarist Scott (Spiral Stairs) Kannberg wasted no time in forming Preston School of Industry — and putting out a debut CD that suggestted he was the Paul McCartney to Malkmus’s John Lennon (relatively speaking, of course). Now, three years later, Kannberg stays on message with PSOI’s equally impressive sophomore disc Monsoon. Picking up right where All This Sounds Gas left off, these 10 tunes are brimming with the jangling strumming, lazy gaits, loopy guitar melodies and stoner-pop vocals that too often went underappreciated in his old combo. But if angular cuts like Line It Up and Get Your Crayons Out! (featuring Wilco) could be leftovers from Wowee Zowee, poppier numbers like Furnace Sun, Walk Of A Gurl and the R.E.M.-ish Caught In The Rain could be hit singles Pavement never had. Either way, you have to suspect we’ll be hearing plenty from Kannberg.
