Pavement are back— kind of. The legendary indie slackers will feature their first new song in 25 years on the Pavements soundtrack.
The part-documentary, part-biopic film, directed by Alex Ross Perry, premiered September 3 at the Venice Film Festival. Starring Stranger Things’ Joe Keery and Jason Schwartzman, Pavements lands on MUBI this spring, promising a deep dive into the band’s career and mythology.
The soundtrack’s highlight? A fresh Pavement track—their first since 1999’s Terror Twilight. Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kanneberg broke the news on Kreative Kontrol, teasing, “There will be a new Pavement song on the soundtrack, that’s all I’m gonna give you.”
The revelation even surprised Perry, who exclaimed, “Even I didn’t know that!” Kanneberg then elaborated. “I just heard a mix of it today, and it’s pretty good,” he said, hinting at the track’s laid-back origins.
The song, he clarified, isn’t a polished studio recording but an experiment from rehearsals. “It’s not a big deal,” he said, downplaying its significance. “It’s just cool because it’s something different and is a song we all really loved playing.”
For fans, though, this “not a big deal” is monumental. Pavement hasn’t released new material since their 1999 breakup, aside from anniversary tours. Their raw, unpredictable approach has always made anything they touch feel essential.
The film brings the band’s story to life through a mix of archival footage and reenactments. In one standout scene, Keery, as a young Stephen Malkmus, takes a call about playing Saturday Night Live—hosted by Quentin Tarantino. Jason Schwartzman and Tim Heidecker pop up as Matador Records execs Chris Lombardi and Gerard Cosloy, adding a dose of meta comedy.
For Perry, the film is as much a fan letter as it is a retelling. Speaking to Vanity Fair, he summed it up: “You’re only going to get to make one Pavement movie. This isn’t Scorsese getting to make his fourth and fifth Dylan film. So why don’t I just make every Pavement movie that I, as a fan, would ever want to watch—or hate-watch.”
Let me ask you this. If that isn’t Pavement to a tee, literally what is?
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