Pavement Develops Some Cracks : * 1/2: PAVEMENT, “Wowee Zowee”; <i> Matador</i>

There’s no band better than Pavement when it comes to making great pop tunes sound like mistakes that have been turned into great pop tunes. The quintet’s members, justifiably worshiped by indie fans far and wide, are masters of mix ‘n’ match melody.

After bunches of independent singles and albums, “Slanted and Enchanted” (1993) broke the band beyond its handful of fans, and last year’s “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain” verified that Pavement was more than just a fuzzy, low-fi novelty.

But “Wowee Zowee” is a sloppy effort, even in Pavement terms. It comes off lazy and unfinished, never attempting to reach out or connect as previous albums did. Instead, the 18-track collection sits back and waits for you to piece it all together.

All the bits are there--bittersweet melodies, warmly off-key vocals and Pavement’s skewed wordplay: “Lady lady, my heart is made of gravy.” There’s even some of the same country influences that surfaced on the last album, but the band never bothers to string it together in a cohesive flow. Parts click but ultimately lay strewn about like socks on the floor of a messy bedroom.

The disarray of “Wowee Zowee” goes beyond the obligatory indie need to slack (after all, this is a band of founders, rather than followers). Instead, the band haphazardly lets go of its most precious commodity--continuity.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (essential).