Pixies "Indie City" (2014)

digipack

Indie City
release date: Apr. 28, 2014
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,26]
producer: Gil Norton
label: Pixiesmusic - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "What Goes Boom" (live on Later) - 3. "Indie Cindy" - 7. "Blue Eyed Hexe" - 5. "Magdalena 318" - 9. "Another Toe in the Ocean" - 11. "Snakes"

5th studio album by Pixies is the band's first full-length release in 23 years [!] and has legendary Gil Norton as producer - as guarantee for coming close to the original sound. The album has been labelled a compilation because it consists of all 12 songs taken from three recent three EPs: EP1 (tracks #1, 3, 9, 10) released Sep. 2013, EP2 (tracks #2, 5, 7, 11) from Jan. 2014 and EP3 (tracks #4, 6, 8, 12) released Mar. 2014; however, it still IS the band's first full length studio release since Trompe le monde from 1991. The line-up has changed since then, as founding member, bassist Kim Deal, much to the band's regret, left the band before going to the studio to record these new songs. For a European tour the band found a substitute in Kim Shattuck, but only to be replaced two months later by Paz Lenchantin, also for live concerts only. As for the album, Simon 'Dingo' Archer (formerly The Fall) is credited as non-member bassist on all tracks.
The album was met by luke-warm reviews mostly pointing to the incoherence of the material, where some songs point to Black Francis' early solo works, and other compositions play with too many influences. Some also suggest that fans had awaited the return of Pixies for a long time, and as they finally release a full-length album, it's the songs they already know from the three EPs.
I too hear way too many stylistic traits, but on an overall basis, I also hear the unmistakable sound of Pixies, which is really nice. As was the case two decades ago, Francis is at the steering wheel, and together with Santiago and Lovering this new journey may just be a fine ride.
[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, Q, Spin, Rolling Stone 3 / 5, NME 3,5 / 5 stars ]

original cover

Pixies "EP1" (2013) (ep)

EP1, ep
release date: Sep. 3, 2013
format: digital (4 x File, MP3)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,22]
producer: Gil Norton
label: non-label (self-released) - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "Andro Queen" (2,5 / 5) - 2. "Another Toe in the Ocean" (4 / 5) - 3. "Indie Cindy" (3 / 5) - 4. "What Goes Boom" (3,5 / 5)

Ep release by Pixies is the band's first own material in more than 20 years, and it's the first original material from Pixies without bassist Kim Deal, who quit the band before recording the new songs. EP1 is intended to be the first in a row of self-released eps. The band had re-united back in 2003 with the original line-up and played its first concerts in 2004, and the following years Pixies toured most of the world playing its back catalogue. The band [Black Francis] denied that they were planning to record new material as Deal was against it. After her departure, the band toured without a new band member and for this ep, Ding (Simon 'Dingo' Archer) is credited as bassist but never officially included in the band. This means Pixies is reduced to a trio consisting of lead vocalist, guitarist and lyrical composer, Black Francis, Joey Santiago on lead guitar and David Lovering on drums.
The new material was received by luke-warm to a mostly negative response.
It's not near great, but I don't think it's all that bad. The band still plays with strong vibrant energy and the songs reminds us about a great past. The best thing about these four new songs is that Pixies are back!
[ NME, Under the Radar 3 / 5, PopMatters, Rolling Stone 2,5 / 5, SputnikMusic 2 / 5 stars ]

Frank Black "Frank Black Francis" (2004)

Frank Black Francis
release date: Oct. 12, 2004
format: 2 cd
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,66]
producer: Two Pale Boys
label: SpinART - nationality: USA

2-disc album by Frank Black released after Pixies had re-united in 2003 and was in a process of releasing new material. Disc 1 "Black Francis demos" are Black's actual demo recordings prior to the first Pixies recording session in 1987. Disc 2 "Frank Black Francis" sees Black reworking a selection of familiar Pixies songs together with Keith Moliné and Andy Diagram from David Thomas and Two Pale Boys.
This is neither a new studio album or a traditional compilation album, although, it contains material which could put the album in both categories. The first disc is 'extra material' one would expect on a deluxe edition of the Come on Pilgrim ep and disc 2 is much more in the tradition of new album releases as it contains completely new interpretations of his own songs, and then all songs have been released before... It also contains a rather unnecessary almost 15 min version of "Planet of Sound", which spins 2:07 in its original version [what?!]. These new recordings are made in subtle 'folk rock' and 'singer / songwriter' shapes, which really alienate them from the originals. They are not entirely bad, but after a while I still end up thinking "so?". It's great classic energetic outbursts tied down to sell an album and to 'milk the sacred cow', as Biafra would've put it. Fact is, Pixies re-united in 2003, played some gigs and went as far to start recording new material. First they released a bunch a live albums, then they released a couple of singles - all self-released material - to have their share. Their former label, 4AD milked its share by releasing the compilation album Wave of Mutilation: Best of Pixies and Frank Black released this one to get his crunchy bit while the band was on everyone's lips again. Musically, disc 1 is a bland experience. There are good reasons as to why demo recordings don't do that well. I mean, of course people want to see the sketches of Da Vinci and Picasso, but why pay a lot of attention to someone humming in his or her bedroom to lay down ideas to elaborate on and have band members fix it all to make it unique and worthwhile in a studio?! Had it been solo originals, it would equal the aforementioned comparison, but Pixies was much more than Frank Black's sketches. This is purely for documentary purpose. Or, if you happen to be one true Pixies hardcore fan, and I'm not really that.
Only disappointed.
[ allmusic.com, Mojo, Uncut 4 / 5, Q 2 / 5 stars ]

Frank Black "Teenager of the Year" (1994)

Teenager of the Year
release date: May 24, 1994
format: cd (1999 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Eric Drew Feldman, Frank Black, Alistair Clay
label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Whatever Happened to Pong?" - 2. "Thalassocracy" - 3. "(I Want to Live on an) Abstract Plain" - 5. "The Vanishing Spies" - 6. "Speedy Marie" - 7. "Headache" (4 / 5) (live) - 11. "Fiddle Riddle" - 14. "I Could Stay Here Forever" - 16. "Superabound" - 17. "Big Red" - 20. "Pure Denizen of the Citizens Band"

2nd solo studio album by Frank Black is a true long-player at 62 min. playing time and containing 22 tracks (with several tracks under 2 min. and 10 tracks over 3 mins) thus being released as a double vinyl lp. Like on his debut, former Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago feature on several tracks but the musical backbone is once again co-producer Eric Drew Feldman on bass & keyboards and Nick Vincent on drums.
Stylistically, Black may not introduce a lot of new styles here - he excels in what he does best: playing alt. rock and indie rock - at the time often referred to as college rock, but the album is something else than his first solo album where he sort of just did what he had been used to do. And lyrically, he just continues to sing about whatever pops up in his weird super-sub-conscious fantasy. Yes, it's songs about video-games, comics' and cartoon characters, space, UFOs and what lies in between [!]... Quite often it's rather funny, though. The album is very varied incorporating not only inspiration from other genres and styles but by adding elements from 1960s surf rock, folk rock, 70s art rock and of course punk rock. Sometimes he even sounds inspired by more traditional folk as exemplified in "Superabound" and "Sir Rockaby", but without pointing in all directions he somehow manages to keep it all together thanks to a simple production sound without too much post-recording rework and by altogether containing all the various styles in his special universe of alt. rock.
Admittedly, I rejected the album in '94. I did try listening to it - more than once - but I just didn't get it. To me, it was too noisy and without direction and appeal. I dunno. I guess I felt the same way about Trompe le monde by Pixies when I first heard that one. There's something confrontational about his music that may cause people to keep it out, perhaps. Anyway, for me this is an album that has taken more than a usual amount time to settle and to adjust to. But I have. From a 2010-perspective I can't really understand why I didn't just embrace the album as the continued journey out of Pixies - kind of together with what The Breeders did.
The album contains a lot of fine tracks and great bits, and overall, it's quite an accomplishment, where I feel completely in line with Al Wesel of Rolling Stone when he sums up that: "The songs switch gears so much that you're never sure where you might end up, but the ride is always exhilarating." At the time of its release, the album was met by fine but also luke-warm reviews; however, time has really rocketed the album up on many best of charts, and it's also included in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, NME, Select, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Frank Black "Frank Black" (1993)

Frank Black [debut]
release date: Mar. 8, 1993
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Eric Drew Feldman, Frank Black
label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Los Angeles" - 2. "I Heard Ramona Sing" - 3. "Hang on to Your Ego" - 8. "Ten Percenter" - 13. "Adda Lee" - 15. "Don't Ya Rile 'Em"

Studio album solo debut by Frank Black, aka Black Francis, which used to be his moniker while band leader of Pixies, aka Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV [actual birth name!] released only a few months after Black had announced the break-up of Pixies, which apparently had come as a surprise to the other members of the band. Musically, it follows close in the tradition of Pixies' material and also as a follow-up to its last album Trompe le monde (1991). Joey Santiago of Pixies feature on additional guitar, and Black's two foremost musical associates here are co-producer Eric Drew Feldman (former Pere Ubu and Captain Beefheart) on bass and keyboards and with Nick Vincent on drums and percussion.
I recall listening to the album by chance in the early 90s finding it superficial and of no particular interest. I think, I had been taken so much by surprise by the split of a great band and also found the band's last album of less interest - at the time - that I simply rejected this, thinking the band had been great with Doolittle and not really again after that. A few years later I changed by view on Pixies last album but never found this one in close relation to that. It's obvious that it's rather close to the soul of the band, but I don't find this one particular successful, and have come to regard it as Black's urge to show the others how he was somewhere else - already releasing his own material as if to say: "Pixies is all over with - just look where I'm heading!" - or something.
It does for sure seem unfinished - like an album in the making, and I have always regarded it as something just above the mediocre... for some reason.'Cause when I compare it to the last two albums by Pixies it's really not far from those - not considerably poorer. I think, it's major problem is that it almost only summarizes what Pixies stood for. Too many compositions stand so close to what has already been issued by his former band - here new songs have their own specific arrangements. That's true, but they still sound like remakes, and that's the problem about this album. Black doesn't do something else than going through the motions - just for himself this time. Perhaps it's actual problem is that it's his break-up album where he just wants something to shove in the face of his former associates saying "We used to do this together, now I do it on my own (and we all know it's the same shite)".
I'm not overly pleased about it, though I can't really say it's near bad. I just don't play it often and can only say that I do not agree with Heather Phares at allmusic.com.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Pixies "Trompe le monde" (1991)

Trompe le monde
release date: Sep. 23, 1991
format: cd / vinyl (2021, 30th Anniversary Ed. - ltd. green vinyl)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,15]
producer: Gil Norton
label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "Trompe le monde" - 2. "Planet of Sound" (4 / 5) - 3. "Alec Eiffel" - 4. "The Sad Punk" - 5. "Head On" - 6. "U-Mass" (4 / 5) - 7. "Palace of the Brine" - 8. "Letter to Memphis" - 9. "Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons" (4 / 5) - 10. "Space (I Believe In)" - 11. "Subbacultcha" - 12. "Distance Equals Rate Times Time" - 13. "Lovely Day" - 14. "Motorway to Roswell" - 15. "The Navajo Know"

4th and final epic studio album by Pixies is a strong return to a noise rock, garage rock universe. All tracks are written by Black Francis except for one song (like was the case on the previous album). Here they include a cover version, "Head On" by British noise-rockers Jesus and Mary Chain. When I first heard Trompe le monde, I was really disappointed. It wasn't the comeback release to the sound and glory of Doolittle (1989) that I had hoped for, and I didn't like the distorted singing / screaming by Francis. I thought it was nothing but noise. After the initial rejection I returned to it, and it took me some time but eventually it slowly opened, and I found the beauty in the ugly, you could say, almost like with the rest of their albums. It has some strong narrative beautiful songs like "Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons" and "Motorway to Roswell" as well as fierce-full outburst like "Planet of Sound", "U-Mass", and "Lovely Day". I think it's simply the band's second best album, although the unpolished Surfer Rosa (1988) is another album hard to get past.
The band spent the last months of '91 and most of '92 by touring, and tensions within the band led to an initial hiatus by the end of the year. The band members put energy in individual projects - of which the (Kim and sister Kelley) Deal-led band, The Breeders was most interesting. In early '93, in a BBC interview, Black Francis stated that Pixies were no more, and this was later informed to the other members, who apparently knew nothing of the split. Black Francis released his solo debut album Frank Black (now as Frank Black) in March, and lead guitarist Joey Santiago formed The Martinis and The Breeders released its fine debut album Last Splash in August that year. From hereon, it seemed very unlikely that Pixies should ever re-unite.
EDIT 2021:
Original issues of the album has sky-rocketed in prices, and yes, I happened to own that issue but as I resold that still of '91, I must settle with less. The cd-issue just isn't the same, and especially the cover art is so unique, you need to see it in another scale, so as of 2021, I have now purchased the album in a '30th Anniversary Edition', which luckily still sounds great and definitely much better than the various remaster editions, which should be avoided.
[ allmusic.com, Blender, Q Magazine, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

2021 vinyl reissue

Pixies "Bossanova" (1990)

Bossanova
release date: Aug. 1990
format: cd (CAD 0010 CD) / sacd (2008 reissue - UDSACD 2035)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: Gil Norton
label: 4AD Records / Mobile Fidelity - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Cecilia Ann" - 2. "Rock Music" - 3. "Velouria" - 4. "Allison" - 5. "Is She Weird" (4 / 5) - 7. "All Over the World" - 8. "Dig for Fire" (4 / 5) - 12. "Hang Wire" - 14. "Havalina"

3rd full studio album by Pixies, and their second time working with the English independent producer Gil Norton. The album is by many considered the weakest release by the band. I don't see it as solely weak and uninteresting, but yes, it's not their best, and it's also obvious that the production sound has changed. Critics find that the sound is blurred, too heavy and that it lacks space, and band members have recalled the recording process as a bit of a mess. On their previous material the music was mostly written by Black Francis but Kim Deal also provided one or two songs for the albums, and beside that played a more visible singing part, but this time everything is by Francis (except "Cecilia Ann", written by The Surftones), and it seems like an area of conflict within the band that only got worse. Unable to have much of a say or able to provide songs for the new album, Kim formed The Breeders and they soon released the acclaimed debut album Pod, also 1990. The music on Bossanova seems much inspired by 1960s surf rock and the noise rock, indie rock, alternative rock is more polished in a way, although, a song like "Rock Music" has much more in common with fierce and flaming guitar-driven tracks like "Tame", "Debaser" and "Bone Machine" on their previous albums than any of the remaining songs on this one. Most of the songs have focus on a softer and more quiet chorus with much more harmony than normal with Pixies. My favourite tracks are "Is She Weird" and the ultimate Pixies pop song "Dig for Fire", which got a lot of airplay on the Danish national radio station P3 that year, and that's a song I never get tired of. I think the album is weak in the sense that it lacks direction. As I mentioned, some tracks could fit nicely on their previous albums and others have more in common with the follower, and in that way it's somewhat unfinished. The team work was not perfect and that already signaled the end of the band with Deal concentrating on her side-project The Breeders and Francis taking over as a self-appointed chief of the band. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
In 2008 the album was reissued in a remastered version. I have both albums, but frankly, don't understand the need to update the original (heavy or not) sound of the original release. Yes, the remastered version has another sound - but better? I don't think so.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Blender 5 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

2008 Remaster,
Mobile Fidelity

BEST OF 1989:Pixies "Doolittle" (1989)

Doolittle
release date: Apr. 17, 1989
format: vinyl (CAD 905) / cd (2008 reissue)
[album rate: 5 / 5] [4,88]
producer: Gil Norton
label: 4AD / Rough Trade - nationality: USA

Tracklist: A) 1. "Debaser" (5 / 5) (live) - 2. "Tame" (5 / 5) (live) - 3. "Wave of Mutilation" (5 / 5) (live) - 4. "I Bleed" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "Here Comes Your Man" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "Dead" - 7. "Monkey Gone to Heaven" (5 / 5) - - B) 1. "Mr. Grieves" - 2. "Crackity Jones" - 3. "La La Love You" (4 / 5) - 4. "No. 13 Baby" - 5. "There Goes My Gun" - 6. "Hey" (4,5 / 5) - 7. "Silver" - 8. "Gouge Away" (4 / 5) (live)

2nd studio album by Pixies originally released on 4AD Records is the best album release in 1989, I think, and it's one of my all-time favourite albums. It is indeed Pixies at their best and is why it must be rated as a masterpiece. This is where Black Francis got it all right, leaving room for the others in the band: Kim Deal, Joey Santiago, and David Lovering, and where it seems they all directing everything into a dirty garage noise rock blasting synergy. Later on megalomania, or whatever it was, had Francis off track. After the fine but somewhat unfinished / incoherent debut Surfer Rosa (Mar. 1988) with promises of greatness they fulfilled all expectations on Doolittle. Never again should they make such a homogeneous and sparkling album of pure energy and playfulness. And although they were never bad later on, as I also enjoy Bossanova (1990) and Trompe le monde (1991), they never were quite as exquisite as here! Yes, once again Francis wrote almost everything but there was still room for Kim, although I think she found it a hard time working with Francis at this point. This is "only" their 2nd album but later on things went from hard to worse, as I guess Francis took the leadership into an ultimate phase and wanted control with everything. Pixies played very unlike any other band and all their releases share their specific signature but still, in my mind, this album is much better produced and orchestrated than their other albums. Gil Norton produced this as he did with the following two albums but I don't think he or the band ever got that synergistic touch right again. I think, this is the only album on which you hear traditional strings, and of course they shouldn't repeat themselves but progress and evolve but it really suits their noisy distorted sound to include soft, mellow strings - like adding another layer of contrast to their sound.
The album is deservedly enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, NME, Drowned in Sound 5 / 5, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

1989 Favourite releases: 1. Pixies Doolittle - 2. The Blue Nile Hats - 3. Kitchens of Distinction Love Is Hell

Pixies "Surfer Rosa" (1988)

Surfer Rosa [debut]
release date: Mar. 1988
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,96]
producer: Steve Albini
label: 4AD records - nationality: USA

Tracklist: A) 1. "Bone Machine" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Break My Body" - 3. "Something Against You" - 4. "Broken Face" - 5. "Gigantic" (4 / 5) - 6. "River Euphrates"  - B) 1. "Where Is My Mind?" (4 / 5) - 2. "Cactus" - 3. "Tony's Theme" - 4. "Oh My Golly!" - 5. "Vamos" - 6. "I'm Amazed" - 7. "Brick Is Red"

Full studio album debut by Pixies is a very strong and highly original album released 6 months after the ep Come on Pilgrim. The sound is heavy and Pixies reveal a trademark of theirs, which is utilizing the contrast between what is soft and quiet and LOUDness. Almost all the songs are written by Francis. The album is credited as a cornerstone and quoted as a huge source of inspiration for many artists including Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, and the music press only has high praises for the album and the band but the release failed to provide the record label with noteworthy sales. But that's also the story of Pixies: the vast crowd and commercial breakthrough never came until the band split. The music was probably too original and far away from the ordinary. I bought the album shortly after their second album release Doolittle (1989), which was the first time I heard them and I immediately fell for their style. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
The cover is by the English photographer Simon Larbalestier who stayed as a preferred choice and made all other album covers by the band later on.
[ allmusic.com, Blender, Rolling Stone Music Guide 5 / 5, NME 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Pixies "Come on Pilgrim" (1987) (ep)

Come on Pilgrim, ep
release date: Sep. 1987
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,16]
producer: Gary Smith
label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA

Tracklist: A) 1. "Caribou" - 2. "Vamos" - 3. "Isla de Encanta" - 4. "Ed Is Dead" - - B) 1. "The Holiday Song" - 2. "Nimrod's Son" - 3. "I've Been Tired" - 4. "Levitate Me"

8 track album debut of Pixies. The ep was released on 4AD Records in 1987 but already a year later when the debut album Surfer Rosa came out, a new bonus edition was released, which includes both the ep and the debut on one cd (as a reissue of Surfer Rosa). The band consists of Black Francis [aka Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV, his actual birth name! aka Black Francis, and later when he went solo: Frank Black] on guitar and lead vocals, Joey Santiago on lead guitar, Kim Deal on bass and vocals, and David Lovering playing drums. They signed with British independent record label 4AD and released this as remixes from a demo tape. Although the 8 tracks had been hand-picked from their demo recordings it's really a variety of their trademarks. It features songs in Spanish, songs with nice harmonies and electrifying noise rock outbursts, and in that respect also demonstrates a powerful but varied potential.
I bought the extended cd version of Surfer Rosa but never really saw it as a huge benefit as the tracks from the ep follow right after the debut, which makes it a bland experience. I prefer keeping things apart. The ep is like a drawing sketch or a rough stone, whereas the debut has a certain and much more distinct direction, and they're also produced in different ways, but still it's nice to hear this raw and not so well-produced short album as an initial state with less direction.

Pixies Live at SWU 2010 (Complete Show)

Great live performance after the band's re-union.
It's quite impressive to hear them play so tight and with such energy many years after the first disbandment.

Pixies

~ ~ ~

Pixies was formed in 1986 (Boston, MA, USA) and split in 1993. The band was better credited after releasing four albums and after its disbandment. Although, the critics always loved them, the audience and records buyers were small in number. However, many artists have mentioned the band as a big source of inspiration and their aftermath has put them on a pedestal, also, their albums have had fine sales in the late '90s and in the new millennium, and (maybe) as a consequence of that the band reunited in 2004. I think the first song I heard with the band was "Monkey Gone to Heaven". I simply loved the song and still find it refreshing and truly beautiful.
The band split after their last real studio release. Black Francis went solo as Frank Black, continuing his 'detour' into experimental noise rock and alt. country - I never got that, whereas Kim Deal had more success in forming The Breeders with her sister Kelley among others, making very interesting alternative, indie, garage rock. Actually, they formed in 1990 and had a huge success with their second album and highly recommendable Last Splash (1993). Somehow Pixies actually peaked after their split. My guess is that their music simply was too strange and unpredictable for many at the time when they released it. Several compilation albums received good sales, and their renowned status may have had some importance in Pixies re-union for live performances in the new millennium, and with great success. Maybe they're still playing the good old stuff somewhere.

~ ~ ~

My own Pixies collection of vinyl and cd albums (1987-1991)

~ ~ ~