Wave Of Mutilation: Pixies Reviewed
 

Wave Of Mutilation: Pixies Reviewed

Introduction

I've thought about doing something like this for a while and now I've decided to give it a shot. In this thread I am going to review the Pixies' four studio albums; Surfer Rosa, Doolittle, Bossanova and Trompe le Monde, along with their debut E.P. Come On Pilgrim as well as other significant releases and things of interest. I have a number of reasons for doing this. Firstly I would love to introduce newcomers to the band's exciting music. Secondly I would like to encourage casual fans here to look deeper into the band and explore them that little bit more, in the hope that I can change their perspective and they will appreciate the band a lot more. Thirdly I would like to encourage existing fans here to go and revisit their catalogue and perhaps generate some renewed interest about them on this forum. Finally this will be an exciting challenge for me and a pleasure to do.

I do admit that the first time I heard the Pixies I wasn't really that interested, even though I was a big fan of Nirvana. It wasn't until my last year of school aged 18 that I started to appreciate alternative rock and indie music a lot more and started to explore it. One of my friends encouraged me to check out Doolittle, which I did, and soon enough the album clicked with me and it was a relevation. Thanks to the Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins and The Cure, by the time I started college, the door to all the great indie and alternative rock bands of the 80's and 90's wasn't just opened up for me, it was smashed to bits and the entire wall demolished.

Really the Pixies need no introduction, but for those of you who haven't a f ucking clue the Pixies formed in 1986 when Charles Thompson IV (a.k.a. Black Francis, a.k.a. Frank Black) met Joey Santiago while studying at the University of Massachusetts. Shortly afterwards they recruited bassist Kim Deal and drummer David Lovering to make the line-up complete. They settled on the name 'Pixies' after Joey Santiago picked it randomly from the dictionary and they liked the name because of it's visual appearance and meaning. The band's "Purple Tape" demo found it's way into the hands of 4AD boss Ivo Watts-Russell who in fact dismissed the band at first, but had a change of mind and then signed the band to his label. The band would then go on to do good things for the label before splitting in 1993.

In a similar way to The Velvet Underground, the Pixies only had moderate success during their original period together, but their influence on alternative rock and indie bands that would follow is significant. Mainstream success would eventually come to them through their influence on bands such as Nirvana, Pavement, The Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, Neutral Milk Hotel, Built To Spill, Radiohead etc., even up to more recent years with bands such as Silversun Pickups as well as a few 'Best Of' compilations. The band reunited in 2004 and toured around the world with huge success over the years. Apart from the single 'Bam Thwok' the band have released no new material since their reunion, but there is always the slight possibility of it happening.

Anyway I hope you enjoy reading this and appreciate it. Zero.

Index

• Come On Pilgrim (1987)
• Surfer Rosa (1988)
• Doolittle (1989)
• Bossanova (1990)
• Trompe Le Monde (1991)

rock n roll:beer:

Hell Yeah.


I saw the documentary loudQUIETloud: A Film About the Pixies last year.

Divine.

"I'm digging for fire."

Come On Pilgrim is the debut EP/mini-album from Boston's finest pioneers of indie-rock. The EP consists of 8 tracks taken from the band's 17-track 'Purple Tapes' demo (nearly all the songs on this demo have appeared on subsequent Pixies albums). Although this 8-song offering is still a bit rough around the edges compared to later releases such as Doolittle and Bossanova, it clearly shows the potential that this band had and gives plenty of hints of what was to come on subsequent releases. All the unhinged madness of Black Francis' songwriting and vocals, lead guitarist Joey Santiago's soaring and infectious guitar melodies, Kim Deal's simple yet effective basslines and David Lovering's solid and precise drumming are present here and they very rarely put a foot wrong.

The rambling latin guitar intro to the first track 'Caribou' gives little indication to the listener of what is to come, however it does give way to Black Francis' dark and slightly demented crooning. The sinister-sounding verses give way to noisier-sounding choruses complete with Francis screaming his lungs out over the top. The song demonstrates the quiet-loud dynamic which the band would become known for and also sounds like a blueprint for a lot of grunge bands that would grace the alternative rock world in the late 80's and early 90's. I'm guessing Kurt Cobain was taking note. The second track 'Vamos' would reappear on their debut album proper Surfer Rosa in a longer form but here the song appears in it's original form. It's a slightly rougher version than the one which would appear on Surfer Rosa but it sounds just as good and just as unhinged. Punk and Hispanic influences are thrown together into one bundle and English and Spanish vocals alternate with each other to great effect. What really makes the song stand out for a lot of people is Black Francis' short, stabbing and completely unhinged screams. Completely mental stuff. The Hispanic theme, inspired by Francis' time in Puerto Rico, continues with the frantic 'Isla De Encanta', a relatively short and simple song with three-chord punk riffs and David Lovering's simple yet steady rhythm providing the backing for Black Francis and Kim Deal's Spanish vocals. The song is otherwise broken up by a short noisy guitar solo but otherwise nothing really too special going on here, although it is still a very good song. The marvellous 'Ed Is Dead' however showcases the classic, melodic Pixies sound in it's early stages. Joey Santiago's distinctive and melodic lead-guitar lines are what really make this song. His lead guitar melodies battle with melodic Francis' vocals throughout the song, while Kim Deal's backing vocals compliment Francis' vocals to great effect.

'The Holiday Song' is a gloriously infectious song, demonstrating the pop potential that the Pixies had from the word go. Another effortless and unforgettable Joey Santiago lead guitar melody gives this song it's character, not to mention Black Francis' amazing vocal performance. It really is a classic Pixies tune up there with the likes of 'Gigantic' and 'Monkey Gone To Heaven' and for me is the highlight of this collection. 'Nimrod's Son' follows a similar style to 'Vamos', this fast-paced song seems to resemble Neil Young covering Johnny Cash. It's a tough job trying to make sense of Black Francis' lyrics most of the time, lyrics such as "I shook all night and held her hand. Chocolate people well I'll be damned" will probably only make sense in his own mind or maybe not at all. But his very cryptic lyrics are one of the most fascinating things about the Pixies, their songs could mean so many different things and it's really up to the listener to try and figure them out for themselves. In the following track 'I've Been Tired' a classic Kim Deal bassline and skanking guitars provide the backing for Black Francis' very odd, rambling vocals before switching to a classic Pixies chorus. The Pixies once again proving themselves as the masters of dynamics by alternating different styles and moods. The rather interesting and unconventional lyrics include Black Francis jokingly telling his biggest fear is "losing my penis to a whore with disease". The final track 'Levitate Me' brings the album to a great conclusion. The darker, atonal-sounding verses alternate very well with the uplifting and deeply melodic chorus. Francis' vocals sound passionate and strained throughout and really show that he is giving it all he's got. The song ends rather nicely with another great melodic lead guitar line from Joey.

At twenty minutes and twenty-nine seconds Come On Pilgrim is all over in a flash and leaves you wanting more. Although their sound isn't quite the finished product and the record doesn't quite have the vision and direction of Surfer Rosa and Doolittle it does give a very good indication of what was to come on their debut full-length album Surfer Rosa. But the Pixies were off to a flying start.

It's always nice to the the Pixies getting attention. Nice review! I will keep an eye on this one.

Sweet review Zero! Can't wait for the rest of em!

I got Surfer Rosa and Come On Pilgrim together as the one CD, but of course it would make more sense to review them separately instead as the one package. Surfer Rosa was the third Pixies album I bought after Doolittle and Bossanova and is one of those albums which did a great deal in helping me shape my music tastes and become the person I am today. It is also one of those albums that brings me back to a certain moment in time as well, a time before I had a car and I used to have to travel places by public bus, with my little mp3 player and I'd listen this album quite a lot. For this album the band hooked up with the one and only Steve Albini, an excellent choice in producer as his no bullsh!t production techniques helped the band progress yet still keep the raw sound they had on their debut EP Come On Pilgrim.

From the first thuds of David Lovering's drums in the intro to 'Bone Machine' you can tell that the band mean business here. If Come On Pilgrim managed to get a few people's attention in the alternative rock world here they were going to have to prove that they were worth the attention of a far greater number. This song initially seems to be about a girl, but when you hear Black Francis' insane surrealist lyrics in the second verse "I was talking to preachy-preach about kissy-kiss. He bought me a soda. He bought me a soda. He bought me a soda and he tried to molest me in the parking lot. Yep, yep yep yep!" you really start to scratch your head and wonder what the song is about. Perhaps this means something, perhaps it doesn't, but it does give the song a surreal and dark edge. The most striking feature of this song however is Joey Santiago's brilliant and memorable guitar lines which give the song a slightly groovy yet unhinged feel. 'Break My Body' is characterised by an alternating time-signature between the verses and the chorus. The odd time-signature in the chorus gives the music a more artful feel and is a sign of the musical progression from their Come On Pilgrim debut. Kim Deal's bass here seems to have a will of it's own, perhaps making good use of the musical creativity that she still had in the band at the time. Following this is one of the most distinctive and most aggressive songs on the album 'Something Against You', with Black Francis barking the line "I've got something against you" all throughout the song through a distorted vocal effect. The cool little intro riff is an indication of the bands surf-rock influences and will get stuck in your head for days. The song also features what is probably one of the best uses of the word 'prick' ever in music, with the very last line "Oh yeah, I am one happy prick". The song is over in under two minutes and is just so irresistibly goofy. Continuing with the frantic punk-rock pace is the just as bonkers 'Broken Face', with Black Francis singing "I got a broken face" like a giddy mental patient. The song however does briefly deal with the dark theme of incest; "There was this boy who had two children with his sisters. They were is daughters. They were his favourite lovers". Doing a brilliant job of keeping everything together musically is drummer David Lovering, whose brilliantly precise drumming controls the pace of the song and doesn't miss a beat in the process.

The bass intro to the next song is unmistakable. The terrific 'Gigantic' is the only song written by and sung by Kim Deal (credited here as Mrs. John Murphy) on this album and also proves that she had what it takes to be a good songwriter and vocalist and not just the bass player and backing vocalist in the band. The song is a classic example of the quiet-loud format that the band are known for, with the verses restrained and melodic and the chorus sounding huge and urging you to shout along. The song gives way to an electric climax with some nice noisy guitars and a melodic undercurrent. If pop music means simple, memorable music then this must surely be one of the best pop songs there ever was. Fractured melodies and noise collide on the next song 'River Euphrates', which also features some weird alternating time-signatures and some nice surreal lyrics from Black Francis. Trying to make sense of this song is a challenge; "Dead Sea make it float, One sip from the salty wine. Dead Sea make you choke. Let's ride the tiger down River Euphrates". The song features some really great guitar work from Joey Santiago and showcases his knack for effortless guitar melody. Not to mention the rock that is drummer David Lovering keeping it all together. "Ooooooh – stop", and so starts Black Francis' unmistakable acoustic guitar melody and eerily distant cries of "oooo-ooh" in the intro to 'Where Is My Mind?'. Joey Santiago pours his unforgettable lead guitar melody perfectly over this and what a sweet melody it is. Something about this song just makes you feel good and not give a **** about anything that's bothering you in life, this is what makes this one of the great Pixies songs. Despite all of this the song does seem like an ode to insanity and does have a bit of a dark edge to it, but the care-free yet haunting feeling of the song is what really makes it stand out among all the other great Pixies songs. It's a really great song to listen to really late at night lying in bed with your headphones, as the last eerie cry of "oooo-ooh" enters your ears you feel a slight chill going down your spine. The dark, sinister and minimalist-sounding 'Cactus' features Black Francis singing over a repetitive glam riff reminiscent of T. Rex's 'Get It On'. Here Francis seems to be with either lonely in the absence of a lover or creepily obsessing over an ex-lover; "Sitting here wishing on a cement floor. Just wishing that I had just something you wore. I put it on when I go lonely. Will you take off your dress and send it to me?".

Kim Deal's bright and enthusiastic voice introduces the next song 'Tony's Theme'. The super-cool-sounding punk riffs and the shout-along chorus of "To-ny" make this an uplifting and infectious tune. There's even a bit of time for some grinding guitar noise/anti-soloing in the middle. The short and energetic 'Oh My Golly!' sounds like the close cousin of 'Isla de Encanta' off their debut Come On Pilgrim, with it's buzz-saw guitars and Spanish lyrics. The Spanish lyrics are offset by cries of "Oh my golly! Oh my golly!" and the song lyrics also lend the album it's title; "Besando, chinando con surfer rosa (Kissing and chewing with surfer rosa)". A short untitled interlude sandwiches itself in between 'Oh My Golly!' and the next song 'Vamos'. This recording features a bit of humorous studio banter and Black Francis explaining his reason to someone unknown for shouting "you ****ing die!" at Kim Deal. Mental stuff. 'Vamos' picks up where 'Oh My Golly!' left off for some Hispanic-tinged mayhem. 'Vamos' also appeared in shorter original form on debut EP Come On Pilgrim, but the band re-recorded it here for their debut album proper and extended the song by over a minute. Overall the instruments pack more punch and the vocals have more energy and clarity than they did on the original version. The extended mid-section contains some nice surreal improvised guitar noise and of course some insane screams from Black Francis. The song fits into this album perfectly and works remarkably well here. 'I'm Amazed' opens with what appears to be a segment of an interview with Kim Deal and Black Francis talking about someone's exploits with school hockey players. It's unclear whether it's a true story or a fictional piece written in the studio but it sounds pretty crazy. The song itself is short, fast and over in the blink of an eye and also features dual vocals from Black Francis and Kim Deal. It's not a bad song as such but it does sound like a bit of filler just thrown in towards the end for the hell of it. The album finishes with 'Brick Is Red', which is dominated by some nice bluesy and melodic lead guitar work from Joey Santiago. The vocals don't appear until past the half-way mark of this two-minute song and the lyrics are as cryptic as you can expect from Black Francis; "A fist is fast. And Jimmy's cast. Hang Me". The album does seem to pelter out slightly over the last two songs but it doesn't take away from the greatness of this album.

Surfer Rosa was a step in the right direction for the Pixies. It earned the band a big following in Europe and the UK and they were also established them as one of the key bands in the American independent underground rock scene. This was the only album that the band made with Steve Albini as producer. The drum sounds that he got on this album are certainly worth noting, as it's always great to hear drums that actually sound like a person playing drums. It was this raw yet crisp production that inspired many bands to seek the productions talents of Steve Albini, including a certain Nirvana who got him to produce In Utero with them. The band would go on to even bigger and better things with their next album Doolittle, and cement their reputation as one of the most influential alternative rock bands of all time.

Yeah, i love me some surfer rosa. just got it recently actually.

Good stuff. It's one of those album that you will never get sick of.

I haven't logged in at MB for a week or so and this is the first thing that catches my eye. I'm so excited! Awesome thread, Zero - the two first reviews were great! Looking forward to the others!

I first heard of Pixies in autumn 2008 - a thirteen-year-old girl recommended them to me on a Sims 2-forum. (Good taste in music for such a young age.) In January 2009 I bought my first Pixies-album: Surfer Rosa & Come on Pilgrim in one package. I would listen to it twice (or more) every day - I loved it and I still do. I'd never heard anything like it - the lyrics, vocals and riffs just blew me away. A while afterward I bought Doolittle and even though it took some time getting used to because of all the Surfer Rosa-playthroughs, I came to love it just as much or maybe even more.

I've listened to Surfer Rosa, Come on Pilgrim and Doolittle countless times, but I still have trouble discribing the music to others. I don't know what terms to use or how to formulate the sentences. Reading these two reviews helped a lot - your description of the songs is very recognizable. Finally I feel like I've have found the right words for my thoughts.

I don't feel anything special about Trompe Le Monde and Bossanova. I don't know, maybe they just haven't grown on me yet. I'll just have to try playing through them more times and wait for the magic to happen.

Cheers!

I love Bossanova, even though it's not as strong as Surfer Rosa and Doolittle it does have a certain feel to it that I love. Trompe le Monde has some great moments but overall it's definitely not my favourite Pixies album. I'll reveal more when the time comes.

Gigantic

With the song 'Gigantic' the Pixies knew they had a good strong single on their hands. Not only was 'Gigantic' the only single released from Surfer Rosa it was also the first single to be released by the band. In order for the song to make a bigger impact the band decided to re-record the song with producer Gil Norton, who they went on to record Doolittle, Bossanova and Trompe le Monde with. In stark contrast with Steve Albini, who's production methods were raw and used little or no overdubbing, Gil Norton's production was glossier and gave the music a bit more clarity. The single version of 'Gigantic' recorded with Gil Norton had a punchier and cleaner sound overall and more of a traditional pop song structure with an additional chorus added in at the end of the song. With this single the band a potential hit and a song that could gain the band a lot more exposure. It didn't quite work out that way however as the song only reached 93 in the UK singles chart, but what they did have was the ultimate indie anthem that would be played on alternative radio stations and in indie discos for the next 23 years. In the end a job well done.

The first video is the single version and the second is the album version.





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Here's a Pixies interview from 1988 that is very interesting and funny.

Surfer Rosa is one of the finest, rawest rock records there is, but I never much cared for Gigantic. It just didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the record.

that is why it is my favorite song on the record. Stood out.

Like most listeners my first real encounter with the Pixies was with the album Doolittle. It's almost like a right-of-passage for teenagers to get this album and dive further into the whole indie and alternative rock scene, which is exactly what I did in my last year of school. While all the other misfit kids in school were still wearing their Metallica and Slayer hoodies, a few friends and myself gradually ditched all that and turned more and more towards indie-cool by the time we started college. The album itself still contains some of the off-beat madness and insane lyrics of Surfer Rosa but in place of the raw production is a glossier and better produced sound courtesy of Gil Norton. This rise in production quality could allow the band to live up to their pop potential and perhaps break into the alternative rock big league.

The clarity of the band's sound is evident from the opening track 'Debaser', Kim Deal's throbbing bass having much more presence than before and Joey Santiago's wonderful lead surf-guitar melodies sounding crystal-clear and full of soul and passion. Black Francis however sounds as bonkers as he's ever been, crying out "Got me a movie. Ha ha ha ho. Slicing up eyeballs. Ha ha ha ho" like a man seriously deranged. The inspiration for this song was the insanely surreal short film 'Un Chien Andalou'. This is probably the best opening track on a Pixies album and really showcases the combination of atonal singing and soaring guitar melodies to brilliant effect. Kim Deal's funky bass and David Lovering's ever solid drumming form the backbone to the second track 'Tame'. The most striking and engaging element however is Black Francis' vocals, with switch from a sinister whisper in the verses to a full-on roar in the choruses. Listen to Black Francis roar "Taaaaaaaaaame" with all the power he's got at the end of the song and put any extreme metal vocalist to shame. While the first two tracks on the album contain some pretty harsh and insane vocals from Black Francis that all changes with 'Wave Of Mutilation' which features Black Francis singing, yes actually singing. Backed by some wonderful punk/surf hybrid guitars Black Francis pulls off his melodic vocals brilliantly to create a stunning pop-infused song, the chorus refrains of "Wave of mutilation" lodging themselves deep inside your head. Doolittle offers a bit more variety than it's predecessors and this is evident in the slower-paced 'I Bleed'. The slower-pace and sparser sound allows for the song, and the album itself, to breathe a little. The key to this song is Kim Deal's infectious bassline which lays the foundation for her and Francis' dual lead vocals. These dual vocals work to great effect during the verses but not so much during the chorus where they sound a little bit underwhelming. The choruses do however contain some nice crazy slide-guitar which does make up for it to some extent and adds a nice dynamic to the song. 'Here Comes Your Man' is arguably the most accessible and downright melodic thing the Pixies have ever done. That infectious country guitar line from Joey Santiago is inescapable and instantly recognisable, this sets us up for the most thrilling song on the album. The pop-infused sound is clearly evident from Black Francis more melodic and straight-forward style of singing throughout the song, although the lyrics are still characterised by his surreal style of songwriting; "Outside there's a boxcar waiting. Outside the family stew. Out by the fire breathing. Outside we wait 'till face turns blue". Some marvellous boy-girl vocal exchanges between Francis and Deal put the icing on the cake in this song as well as a stunning mid-section. The ultimate sing-along Pixies tune.

If you were worried that the album was going to get a little bit too melodic after 'Here Comes Your Man', the aptly-titled 'Dead' stops you in your tracks with some nice off-kilter madness. This song probably has the most bonkers lyrics you will ever come across on a Pixies album, try and make sense of "You crazy babe bathsheba, I wancha. You're suffocating you need a good shed" and of course the unforgettable refrains of "Uriah hit the crapper, the crapper". This song provides a nice moment of off-kilter charm before the next song 'Monkey Gone To Heaven', one of the definitive Pixies songs. For a lot of people, myself included, this is probably the first Pixies song you heard. The song is a classic example of their quiet-loud dynamics and they work to brilliant effect in this song, Black Francis' almost spoken word verses and Kim Deal's stop-start bass giving way to that unforgettable chorus with some excellent lead guitar work from Joey Santiago. The most magical part of the song of course has to be that last verse "If man is 5, if man is 5, if man is 5. Then the devil is 6, then the devil is 6, then the devil is 6, then the devil is 6. And if the devil is 6 then god is 7, then god is 7, then god is 7" with Black Francis switching to a scream for "god is 7". Feel that chill going down your spine. 'Mr. Grieves' opens with a chilled ska intro and Black Francis' giddy, demented cries of "Hope everything is alright", before switching to some straight-ahead country-infused rock. The pace quickens however with the break-neck 'Crackity Jones', which almost sounds like hardcore-punk done with clean, twanging guitars and a Latino edge. From 0.41 seconds to 1.02 contains some stunning blur-speed guitar work which manages to be both impressively quick and impressively melodic at the same time. This is the shortest song on the album at 1 minute 24 seconds and is over in the blink of an eye. 'La La Love You' slows down the pace and allows you to catch your breath. This song is distinctive for being only one of two Pixies songs to feature drummer David Lovering on lead vocals, the other song being b-side 'Make Believe'. 'La La Love You' is another song that shows how diverse the Pixies are on this album compared to their previous releases. One of the most notable strengths of Doolittle is the variety of the songs and how songs sound completely different to the previous song yet it all somehow fits together perfectly. David Lovering's deep baritone croon makes this lament to love all the more romantic while Joey Santiago's sexy-sounding guitar lines provide the perfect backing. Like 'Here Comes Your Man' this song shows the pop potential that the Pixies had.

There is a dark tension in Black Francis' voice on 'No. 13 Baby'. His surrealist lyrics paint all kinds of strange pictures in your head, such as "Chair in the yard in the house next door. Where a grandma bought some songs from the shore. Six foot girl gonna sweat when she dig. Stand close to the fire when they light the pig". This is also the longest track on the album and features a nice extended instrumental section in the latter half of the song, giving lead guitarist Joey Santiago a chance to strut his stuff. 'There Goes My Gun' is a typical Pixies art-rocker with some off-kilter shouted verses and sparse instrumentation before switching to a more pop-orientated chorus with some great backing vocals from Kim Deal. The song is very minimalist as regards lyrics, making great use of repeating a few nonsensical lines such as "Looka me". Kim Deal's groovy bass and David Lovering's hard-hitting drums form the backbone for the brilliant 'Hey', as the album heads into it's last few songs. Black Francis telling us of "whores in my head, whores at my door, whores in my bed" over some gently picked guitar. The restrained verses build in tension before giving way to a brilliantly memorable chorus, definitely one of the best songs on the latter half of the album. You could argue that 'Silver' is a bit of a filler track, and it is the weakest track on the album I do admit. But one of the most interesting things about this song is the way it lets the band's Neil Young influences shine through. You could almost mistake the dual lead vocals of Francis and Deal to be Neil Young's vocals multi-tracked. As a song however it doesn't really seem to go anywhere but it does invoke a dry, sun-scorched desert feel which I find quite interesting and enjoyable. It's debatable as to whether this song ruins the flow of the album somewhat towards the end, as 'Hey' could have fed nicely into 'Gouge Away' to make for a nice double-punch conclusion, but perhaps it does serve as a break before the onslaught of the final track. And what a final track it is, 'Gouge Away' is as good a closing track you can expect from the Pixies and leaves you thinking about what an awesome album you've just listened to. The song is driven on very nicely by David Lovering's steady, solid drum beat and Kim Deal's throbbing bassline, with Black Francis sounding like he's holding himself back from the edge during the verses before letting it all out for the explosive chorus. The quiet-loud formula has worked so well for the band, especially on this album, and with this track the band have absolutely nailed it. A thrilling conclusion to a thrilling album.

While Doolittle does lack the raw energy and some of the frantic, unhinged madness of Surfer Rosa it more than makes up for it with diversity and moments of melodic brilliance, such as 'Here Comes Your Man' and 'La La Love You'. The better quality production and the use of overdubs allowed them to live up to their potential as a band and further evolve their sound. The band would dabble with even glossier production for the follow-up album Bossanova, but on Doolittle they managed to strike the right balance between good clear production and a natural sound. This album would make the band the darlings of the indie media in the UK and Europe but unfortunately the USA would still ignore them. Never the less the band had created an album that every indie/alternative band that followed would try to match and it's inspiration has spread far and wide. They also created one of my all time favourite albums and I'm nearly certain that there's quite a few others here that feel the same way about it.

Some live footage and an interview with Black Francis from 1989:









"MTV really sucks" - you heard it from the man himself.

Great review Zero! I'm not sure I agree with silver being the worst song though, I think the worst is probably "There Goes My Gun."

Can't wait to see your reviews on Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde!

Thank you. 'There Goes My Gun' is probably one of the weaker songs on the album. It is more or less generic Pixies but it's still a pretty good song, I love the chorus though. I'm going to do the Bossanova review over the weekend.

Bossanova was the second Pixies album I bought after Doolittle. I remember seeing the rather excellent video for 'Velouria', which featured the band members moving in super-slow motion down some rocks, and thought "this song is awesome, I have to get this album next" Just watch the video, it's so simple yet so awesome. Bossanova really doesn’t disappoint as such, trying to top Doolittle was always going to be a tough challenge for the band, but fair play to them they did pretty damn well. On Doolittle, their first album with Gil Norton, the glossier production gave their sound more clarity and gave their music more listener appeal. On Bossanova the band would take this further and create a very melodic and straight-forward rock album with shimmering production, and as a result move even further away from the raw, energetic madness of Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. By the time of this album tensions had already come to a head between Black Francis and Kim Deal, resulting in a brief hiatus. On return Francis had made it clear that the Pixies was his band and he assumed all creative control on this album, leaving Kim Deal feeling a bit alienated.

The album opens with an interpretation of The Surftones' instrumental 'Cecilia Ann', a track which seems to combine spaghetti-western soundscapes with Iron Maiden-esque gallops and even keyboards. Black Francis’ love of metal is perhaps the key influence on this track and would have more of an influence on the next album Triompe le Monde. 'Cecilia Ann' however is a very good introduction to this album, so good that Muse decided to rip it off for their song 'Knights of Cydonia'. 'Rock Music' couldn’t be a more suitable name for the second track. Joey Santiago’s energetic punk riffs provide the perfect backing for Black Francis’ intense and indecipherable screaming. The odd time signature in the verses adds to the unhinged feel of the song and shows that the Pixies were still willing to experiment with musical arrangements as well as write brilliant pop songs. However there’s none of this vocal intensity to be found elsewhere on the album as Francis’ vocals move more towards melodic, straight-forward singing on the biggest part of the album. The more melodic and better-produced sound does work wonders though at times, especially on the brilliantly memorable 'Velouria', which is one of the best songs the band ever recorded. Joey Santiago’s melodic, laser-precision lead guitar line in the intro is one of the many, many reasons to love the Pixies. He knows exactly what he’s doing with his guitar and makes it sound so effortless. As usual Black Francis’ lyrics don’t really make much sense, "Hold my head, we’ll trampoline, finally through the roof, on to somewhere near, and far in time". They do however paint a clear yet strange image in your head and seems to suggest space travel of some sort. This is the Pixies at their very best and stands up against all the standout songs on Doolittle and Surfer Rosa. The short sprint of 'Allison' follows this up very nicely, allowing the album to pick up pace a little bit. This is another highlight of the album, the fast surf-punk guitars recall their earlier material but this is combined with Francis’ melodic vocals to create a short, sharp pop song. There’s even some time for a noisy guitar solo and some Iron Maiden style-gallops with its one minute eighteen second length.

'Is She Weird' brings the album, and indeed the Pixies’ sound, into a darker and previously unexplored territory and marks an evolution in their sound further away from that on Come On Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. David Lovering’s processed drums and Joey Santiago’s creepy-sounding guitars set the dark and hushed atmosphere for the song, but it’s Kim Deal’s bass and Black Francis’ unusually quiet vocals during the verses that really add to this feel. In true Pixies fashion however this atmosphere is punctuated by a louder chorus which allows Francis to raise his voice somewhat and towards the end of the song the band flex their muscles a bit and build up the noise though layers of guitar and Francis’ screaming vocals. 'Ana' shows a quieter and dreamier side to the Pixies, something you would have never imagined on Surfer Rosa. Playing a blinder on this song is lead guitarist Joey Santiago who sounds so effortless in his playing. Throughout the course of the album there are some moments of sheer brilliance from Joey who had now refined his lead guitar style into one that is full of melodic beauty and expression. Kim Deal and David Lovering are of course as solid as ever as evident in the intro to 'All Over The World', Kim’s groovy little bass line locks in perfectly with David’s solid beat and Joey’s guitar licks. The song follows a typical quiet-loud format although the chorus doesn’t quite pack the punch it should. What does pack a punch however is Joey’s guitar playing and especially those two solos after the first chorus. This song is basically like two songs stuck together, with the second ‘song’ forming what sounds like an extended outro to the first one. It makes for a pretty good ending to the first half of the album. Along with 'Velouria', 'Dig For Fire' is one of the highlights of the album for me and is among the Pixies’ best moments. The song has an almost funky edge to it, with tight funky-sounding guitars and Lovering’s almost danceable drum beats. As per usually with any of the Pixies’ songs the lyrics paint a strange and surreal picture in your mind, "There is this old woman, she live down the road, you can often find her kneeling inside of her hole, and I often ask her ‘are you looking for the mother lode?’ Huh? No. No my child this is not my desire and then she said, I’m digging for fire". Black Francis’ straight-forward vocals really seem to drive the song and those vocal hooks of "I’m digging for fire" make the chorus, and the song itself, one of the band’s most memorable moments. The album once again takes a slower and darker turn with the haunting 'Down To The Well'. The song features an excellent lead guitar line from Joey which is prominent throughout the verses of the song. Vocal-wise while Francis’ vocals do have a dark and uneasy feel to them they can’t compete with Joey’s guitar and fail to add much to the song. But just listen to the guitars on this song and you will be impressed. During the second half of the album however the music does seem to drop in quality, but only slightly. While ‘The Happening’ is a very good song it clearly can’t compete with some of the album tracks of Doolittle and Surfer Rosa. One very noticeable feature about this song however is, like 'All Over The World', is basically two songs stuck together. The second song here is in fact 'The Thing' which appears in standalone form on the band’s Complete 'B' Sides compilation.

'Blown Away' I can admit is a filler track. Although not a bad song you can’t help but feel they can do much better than this. The only thing that really seems to grab you here is some brief lead guitar licks but the song itself is not really worth noting. Coming in like a breath of fresh air somewhat is the rather good 'Hangwire', which basically sounds like the first cousin of 'There Goes My Gun' on Doolittle. Like the latter this is a relatively simple and straight-forward Pixies song with quieter, restrained verses and a punchy, memorable chorus. The lyrics are rather interesting and striking, "They’re going higher, wind is whistling on the barbs, your head’s a hammer". The lyrics also lend themselves to the album title "Every morning and every day, I’ll bossanova with you". Not the best song on the album but certainly one of the better ones. Following this however is the worst song on the album and possibly one of the Pixies’ weakest moments 'Stormy Weather'. It just sounds like they just couldn’t really be bothered with the developing the song into anything interesting. It’s pretty uninspiring and they could have easily have just left this song off the album. The lyrics just consist of Francis repeating the line "It is time for stormy weather", and perhaps going on longer than it should have. The album does end however on a sweet note with the beautiful and dreamy 'Havalina'. The guitars add a romantic air to the song while the soft cries of "Havalina" create a dreamy and otherworldly feeling. The disappointing thing about this song however is that it could have been developed into more of a song; one verse just doesn’t seem like enough and leaves you wanting more. But still it is a nice song to end the album with.

Bossanova does have some brilliant moments that are up there with the Pixies’ best. The musicianship appears to have come on in leaps and bounds and the production is even glossier than Doolittle with greater evidence of overdubbing, vocal effects and various instrumental effects. What seems to let this album down slightly are the songs. Despite songs like 'Velouria', 'Allison' and 'Dig For Fire' being among the Pixies’ best, overall the album lacks songs that can compete with songs on Doolittle and Surfer Rosa, as a result this album falls just behind those two albums. But this album is certainly well worth getting and is a very enjoyable album to listen to. Those who feel slightly underwhelmed by it after listening to Doolittle and Surfer Rosa will grow to love it in no time and like Doolittle and Surfer Rosa this album does have a character and feel of its own and is just another step in the evolution of the Pixies’ sound.

Why was Kim Gordon feeling alienated by Black Francis and Kim Deal's relationship? :p:

Just added in a few mistakes to check if people are reading these ;)

:laughing:

Yes I have procrastinated on this review of an album I originally procrastinated on listening to. Trompe le Monde was the final Pixies studio album and it was also their last studio album that I got. I put off getting this album for a couple of years because of the mixed views associated with it but when I first listened to it I realised that it was not all that bad. Then again it is still a good bit off the likes of Surfer Rosa and Doolittle in terms of quality and consistency and has always been the bottom of the pile in my view when it comes to the four Pixies full-length studio albums. By the time of Trompe le Monde the band had pretty much become Black Francis’ band, this album may as well be a solo album such was his creative control on the band at the time. The sci-fi themes that the band briefly visited on previous album Bossanova had also become more prominent here on this album.

Tromple le Monde starts off rather disappointingly I have to say, especially coming after a string of legendary releases since their 1987 E.P. Come On Pilgrim. Opener ‘Trompe le Monde’ features some nice lead guitar work from Joey Santiago and although it’s not a bad song, there’s nothing else about this song that really grabs you apart from the feeling of unease and tension that seems to be bubbling underneath. It sounds very Pixies-by-numbers in my view. ‘Planet Of Sound’ ranks as one of my least favourite Pixies songs. To me it’s the sound of Francis trying to do something new and different and failing. It sounds lazy and uninspired and the generic classic rock riff of the chorus doesn’t help either. One thing you do notice at this stage though is that the band seem to be aiming for a crunchier and more guitar-driven sound, which works well on some songs and not quite as well on others. ‘Alec Eiffel’ starts to show some promise with its memorable vocal melodies and choppy guitar work. The band throw a curveball in the form of what sounds almost like a choir during the latter half of the song and it somehow adds an odd sense of beauty to the song. ‘The Sad Punk’ is exactly that and it basically sounds like a punk song forced through the strange filter that is Black Francis’ mind. The song slows down during the middle part to add some variety but you can’t help feel that the Pixies can do better than this. Then out of the bag comes a cover of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s snarling ‘Head On’. It doesn’t quite have the menace of the original but it is a welcome cover none the less and the band do it justice.

Another one of my least favourite Pixies songs is ‘U-Mass’. The plodding verses make the band sound like they had really run out of good ideas but the chorus riff saves the song somewhat. It is a pretty good riff I must say, so good Nirvana blatantly ripped it off for the main riff on ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. When Nirvana claimed they were trying to rip off the Pixies with that song they really weren’t kidding. Faring slightly better is ‘Palace of the Brine’ which features a nice driving rock groove, some well-placed backing vocals from Kim Deal and its brief length ensures that it doesn’t outstay its welcome. You still can’t help but feel that this song, and indeed the first half of this album, is below the Pixies’ best and what an underwhelming feeling it is. When ‘Letter To Memphis’ kicks in however things start to look up. This song is a Pixies classic and comes like a great breath of fresh air after the underwhelming first half of the album. This song has all the elements of a Pixies classic, Joey Santiago’s effortlessly melodic guitar playing complementing Black Francis’ vocal hooks and underpinned by a tight rhythm backing from Kim Deal and Dave Lovering. The only downside is that the song seems to end too soon, but what a great song it is. A classic Kim Deal bassline forms the backbone of the next song ‘Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons’. You get the feeling that you are going to be in for a great second half to the album with this fantastic song. But you can’t help think that if the band were as direct with their musical approach during the first half of the album as they were on this song and ‘Letter To Memphis’ the album as a whole could have bettered Bossanova and even be as good as Doolittle. The unhinged ‘Space (I Believe In)’ could have slotted quite easily into Doolittle but at the same time displays the sci-fi connection that seems to run through some of the songs on this album.

Continuing this fine run of songs is ‘Subbacultcha’, a song that dates back to the very beginnings of the band and appeared in its original form on their ‘Purple Tapes’ demo. This version is cleaned up quite a bit but however doesn’t quite have the raw bite of the original version. Kim Deal’s groovy bassline gets right under your skin and makes this song impossible to resist. The blink-and-you’ll-miss-it ‘Distance Equals Rate Times Time’ adds a punk edge to proceedings but coming after the previous four songs this sounds rather underwhelming and perhaps even pointless. ‘Lovely Day’ features a catchy and almost danceable guitar line and certainly gets the album back on track. The song reminds you what a great guitarist Joey Santiago is how he manages to pull such memorable and melodic guitar lines out of the bag is beyond me. ‘Motorway To Roswell’ is another album highlight featuring Black Francis in fine melodic vocal form and it is probably the mellowest song on the album. Again the directness of this song works so well here and this kind of approach could have saved the first half of the album from being a bit sub-par. One thing you also notice about this song is the directness of the lyrics which seem to actually tell a story in contrast with the manic and difficult to decipher lyrics that Black Francis produced during his Pixies years. The ending piano coda also seems to add a sad tone to the ending of the song. The final song ‘The Navajo Know’ ends the album on a disappointing note however. It’s an awkward type of song and it’s difficult to know what exactly the band were trying to do. The instrumentation doesn’t seem to gel together quite so well and even coming across as a bit messy. After a great second half of the album they could have wrapping things up on a better note but it’s certainly far from a disaster.

Being the last Pixies studio album you can pick out some signs of tension in their music, such as the feeling of frustration that seems to be bubbling underneath in the first song ‘Trompe le Monde’ and the aggressiveness of ‘Space (I Believe In)’. The fact that there was a lot of tension and frustration within the band and that they were on the verge of splitting could have been the main reason for this album being the loudest and most aggressive Pixies album to date, however it may have also led to this album being their least focused. But louder certainly does not always equal better and some of the songs on this album could have benefited more from being better thought-out. Trompe le Monde certainly has its moments; when the songs are good they hit the spot superbly but when they don’t you can’t help but feel underwhelmed. Doolittle or Surfer Rosa it certainly wasn’t but the Pixies still made a good album. Two years later in 1993 the band parted ways and left behind them a great legacy.

just for 'Subbacultcha' alone Trompe le Monde is worth it. :)

idk, to me Trompe le Monde kinda reflects Frank was heading into a different Musical direction, you said it well Zero

"By the time of Trompe le Monde the band had pretty much become Black Francis’ band"

it's so weird, the Pixies peeked as an immature band. what i mean is, fans seemed to like their ealier stuff 'Come on pilgrim & Surfer Rosa' cause it was just Raw angst, don't get me wrong, the innovation and ambition of a Rock band is still apparent even in their earlier songs.. but frank's loud vocals and rebellious attitude overshadowed that, i have a personal theory that by time frank dared not take himself seriously as a singer. not only as singer as a musician too, songs seemed like a Parody of Rock 'n' roll almost trying to defy the structure and perception of what Rock 'n' roll is.. cause see they made Pop Rock but they purposely distorted it..

Yeah 'Subbacultcha' is definely one of the album's best moments. It's not my favourite version of that song though. I think the song sounds better in rawer form like on Pixies At The BBC and 'The Purple Album', it seems to have more urgency and purpose.

He was heading into new musical territories but really he could only do it on his own and for that he had to either take full creative control of the band or go it alone. The former wasn't going to work out, especially with Kim Deal who had her own band The Breeders, so the band split and he went solo.

I think the band peaked with Doolittle but even by that time I think they had matured somewhat from the chaos of Come On Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. I think you're right about Black Francis not taking himself too seriously as a musician especially in the early days of the band. It was all pretty much tongue-in-cheek and a crazy sense of humour, they were enjoying themselves as a band as well and just playing around with ideas.

One of my favourite bands of all time. Getting all their albums for Christmas (already have "Wave of Mutilation"). Good set of reviews :)

i prefer the albums version. is way more polished the structure is better, the timing is better, it captured better the ambiance of the song.. that's just my opinion though :)

i really liked the purple tape (the so called purple tape 2) Version of Number 13 baby.. is so punk-ish, frank vocals are even more crazy!

VERY interesting set of reviews. :)

I'll be honest; I only know Surfer Rosa and although I like the album the group has a whole has never "clicked" for me. I've been looking for a copy of Doolittle to (hopefully) fix this but because I already own Surfer Rosa and Bossanova on vinyl I feel obligated to own Doolittle on vinyl too. And I'm cheap.

In the meantime, I'll give Bossanova another run-through though.

In my opinion, this album belongs in the RS100.

Good post. Im a big pixies fan...i saw them when they came here in 2010 and it was fantastic.

I discovered them through kim deals "The breeders"

I do prefer the breeders over the pixies, but i rate the pixies as my second favourite act of all time...Number one of corse being the breeders!

My favourite pixies album is surfa rosa..tracks like Something against you ,broken face , bone machine, and oh my golly are just insane.

Im not big on the "catchy" or "entry level" pixies tracks like here comes your man, or where is my mind, they seem to be too well known, and easy to get sick of. Stuff like crackity jones and there goes my gun rank higher in my favourites.