Better Days Will

Chances are, you, the precious rock connoisseur have no idea how good Chavez really were. This is only (partially) your fault for a couple of reasons. First, the guys at Matador Records were far too busy promoting Guided by Voices and Pavement – two of the best bands of the 90s – to make Matt Sweeney (guitar, vocals), Clay Tarver (guitar), Scott Marshall (bass) and James Lo (drums) a marketing priority. Second, the band's two full-length albums, Gone Glimmering and Ride the Fader, have been out of print and unavailable for nearly half their lifetime. 

The time since the demise of Chavez has seen Sweeney become somewhat of a pocket guitar hero, playing on numerous “classic” underground albums and even spending a short period of time as the lead guitar player in Billy Corgan’s quickly-defunct “best band on the planet,” also know as Zwan. This recent attention, along with the resonating fan love for Chavez’s very limited output – not to mention Matadors recent admittance of neglect – have led to a wonderful three-disc box set known as Better Day Will Haunt You.

Included in the set are both studio albums, tracks from a rare 7” single, an EP, b-sides, two juicy books, a ton of photos and, best of all, a DVD complete with videos, a full-length documentary film and a slew of extras. All this – along with it’s wonderful packaging and one of the best two-guitar assaults this side of Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine – for a mere $17. With gas prices still somewhat low, that’s practically free, considering your savings. Still not interested? Keep reading.

Known mostly for their “grunge” sound, catchy tunes and ingenious guitar textures, Chavez were a thinking man’s Nirvana, sans the rockstar antics and coffee shop good looks. Matador, not known for their mishandling of great bands, marketed Chavez as “progressive metal,” a tag certainly appropriate for a band like, say … Kyuss. But Chavez? Not quite. In fact, that might have been part of the problem as most fans of Nirvana, Pavement and the like were most certainly scared off by such an unhip branding in the slacker days of 1995.

You know that saying, “the best band you’ve never heard,” well, that might not quite fit for Chavez. “The best band you would’ve heard had their career been handled better” might work appropriately, but Chavez could easily go down as “The best band from the 90s that you flannel shirt-wearing kids never heard.” It’d be a shame if you never heard Ride the Fader, in particular. Especially “Unreal is Here,” “Top Pocket Man” and “Memorize This Face.” Indie experts will also find quite a bit of joy in Gary Marshall’s excellently titled Boys Making Music, Music Making Men documentary film shot while the band was on tour with Guided By Voices.

Matador has – similar to the Pavement reissues – done everything right with Better Days Will Haunt You. This is – aside from maybe a D.I.Y T-shirt – the only Chavez purchase you’ll ever need to make. Well, unless Chavez follow through with this rumored reunion. Cross your guitar necks.    9/10

Written by G. William Locke