Terror Twilight

Terror Twilight is the fifth and final studio album by the American indie rock band Pavement. It was released on June 8, 1999, on Matador Records in the US and Domino Recording Company in the UK.

Terror Twilight was produced by Nigel Godrich, who hoped to create a "straighter" album and bring Pavement to a wider audience. He and the band disagreed over some choices, and the songwriter, Stephen Malkmus, later expressed dissatisfaction with the album. It received positive reviews. After finishing the tour for the album, Pavement disbanded. In 2022, Matador released an expanded reissue, Terror Twilight: Farewell Horizontal.

Terror Twilight was produced by the British producer Nigel Godrich, who had gained fame for his work with Radiohead, Beck and R.E.M. Godrich, a Pavement fan, accepted the job without having met the band or seen them perform. Hoping to help them find a bigger audience, he wanted to make an album that "stood up straighter" and would "reach people who were turned off by the beautiful sloppiness of other Pavement records". According to the songwriter, Stephen Malkmus, Godrich asked no fee, asking only for royalties. However, Malkmus said: "We paid for the studio time, of course, which started to get expensive. Because [Godrich] had his own, uh, standards."

The group began work in Sonic Youth's studio in lower Manhattan, New York. Godrich found the studio limiting, so the group moved to RPM Studios near Washington Square Park, where Malkmus estimated three quarters of the album were recorded. Dominic Murcott of High Llamas played drums for two tracks when Steve West could not play in time. Malkmus also played drums on one track. Overdubbing and editing took place in London at RAK Studios and Godrich's studio Shebang. The Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood added harmonica on "Platform Blues" and "Billie". Godrich mixed the album at Mayfair Studios.

According to the percussionist, Bob Nastanovich, Godrich struggled with the band's casual approach, and called for more takes than they were used to. Though Nastanovich said Godrich took on a "substantial challenge" and "did a good job", he felt he only connected with Malkmus and disregarded the other band members. Nastanovich realized after several days that Godrich did not know his name. The band was also less familiar with the new material, as it was driven entirely by Malkmus. The guitarist Scott Kannberg was unhappy that Malkmus was not interested in working on songs Kannberg had written, and said Terror Twilight was the hardest Pavement record to make.

Deciding the track list created conflict, Godrich wanted to begin the record with "Platform Blues" and end with "Spit on a Stranger". He felt it should open with a "longer, more challenging song to set the tempo", similar to the 1997 Radiohead album OK Computer. However, the band wanted to open with an "easier" song. Malkmus recalled, "Nigel was like, 'I'm done with this. This is the wrong move. We made a stoner album and you're going halfway.' He’s right probably."

Many of the tracks were previewed at a pair of solo Malkmus shows in California on August 12–13, 1998. These included "Ann Don't Cry", "Carrot Rope", "Spit On A Stranger", "Platform Blues", "You Are The Light", "Folk Jam", and two others that remain unreleased ("Civilized Satanist," which used a Moby Grape sample, and "Dot Days").

At these shows, Malkmus played electric guitar and sang along with home demo recordings of the songs. The style of the recordings was similar to those found on the compilation At Home With the Groovebox ("Robyn Turns 26" and "Watch Out!"), the B-sides of the "Spit on a Stranger" single ("Rooftop Gambler" and "The Porpoise And The Hand Grenade"), and the demo version of "Major Leagues" found on the Major Leagues EP.