Pavement reunions seem to coincide with new Spiral Stairs albums—which are preciously infrequent but, when they happen, you can be assured of a batch of curvy, catchy rock songs that tug with insistence at your emotions. Back in 2009, when Pavement announced their official reunion, Scott Kannberg was gearing up to release The Real Feel, his first solo album as Spiral Stairs; and this past October, Pavement bandmate Stephen and his band the Jicks joined Kannberg onstage for his 50th birthday party in San Francisco, just as he’d logged the finishing touches on Doris and the Daggers. A tinge of bitter sweetness colors the music friend and drummer Darius Minwalla passed away shortly before the studio was booked—but Kannberg’s indomitable optimism never lets the mood get too maudlin, so songs like “Angel Eyes,” a tribute to fallen loved ones, comes across as a jangly, Cali-cosmic road jaunt, while “Emoshuns,” a catalog of heartbreak and hope featuring Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew, chugs along on a muted guitar riff in the vein of vintage Pretenders. There are more guests on board, notably Kelley Stoltz (acoustic guitar on “AWM”) and The National’s Matt Berninger (backing vocals on “Exiled Tonight”), giving Kannberg ample room to probe his range as a songwriter. After eight years off the grid, the guy that rocked Pavement’s “Date With Ikea,” among other gems, still has plenty of digging to do.