Probably their most consistent album, without the highs of yore
Firstly, I just have to say how annoying it is that the track listing on the back of the cd is put in random order-you have to pull the booklet out from the cd to see the correct track listing. I have no idea what that is all about.
Secondly, overall, I think, this album could be their most consistent, in that pretty much all the tracks are listenable. It's just that it lacks a killer song which jumps out at you on first listen [like, say "River Euphrates" on "Surfer Rosa"] or on subsequent listens [like "Monkey gone to heaven" on "Doolittle" or "The happening" on "Bossanova"].
Thirdly, this album wears its influences on its sleeve more than their previous classic albums. By that I mean on albums like "Surfer Rosa" [especially] and "Doolittle", Pixies sound like no other band I have heard of...they inhabit their own space. Also, this album, like Bossanova, is less hardcore than "Surfer Rosa" and "Doolittle".
Okay, here are the songs I like most on this album and the ones where I can hear similarities with other songs by other bands:
Best song: Alec Eiffel. Has a poppy/Ramones like sound to it, with a pinch of the B52s. Features an organ, perhaps a Hammond, and a prettyish outro, sort of like "The happening" on "Bossanova".
Songs that remind me of other songs:
U-Mass: has a cool beat, a vaguely AC/DC like guitar riff, and ends with a Nirvana like guitar riff ["Smells like teen spirit"]. Apparently Nirvana were influenced by Pixies...perhaps there is a feedback loop at work here? [I don't know when this album was released compared to Nevermind].
Subbacultcha: the guitar riff in this reminded me of the theme to the tv show "Peter Gunn". Atmospheric-it has a "noir" feel to it...you could imagine Humphrey Bogart rapping the lyrics to this song! Kim Deal, underutilised on this album [again!], adds to the noir feel.
The Sad Punk: has a Black Sabbath like guitar sound to it with Francis providing his common "wild man" type punkish vocals. It's a song of two halves...it changes tempo.
Head on: channels the Sex Pistols for the guitar riff [which one? Um, either "God save the Queen" or "Anarchy in the UK"-forget which] and Australia's The Church for the vocals, I think, and the guitar sound [like in, say, "The unguarded moment"-a classic Church song].
Lovely day: reminiscent of Iggy Pop's "Lust for life" sound wise and the vocal stylings of The Door's lead singer Jim Morrison.
Bird dream of the Olympus Mons: has a U2 vibe to it, circa The Joshua Tree, along with the vocal style.
Space [I believe in]: guitar is a bit funky in this song and the guitar sound reminds me of The Beach Boys. Kim sings backing on this.
Letter to Memphis: for some reason I think this song has a Bay City Rollers type riff...and I don't really remember the Rollers! Am I right, or what?
Other sort of interesting songs:
Trompe Le Monde: clangy, distorted guitar sound, poppy vocals and heavy metal type lead guitar licks.
Planet of Sound: bassy, hard rock riff. Francis sounds like he is singing underwater! It's meant to sound like that, I take it. Unlike, say, "Motorway to Roswell", which sounds like it was mastered from a scratchy LP [as some songs on this cd can sound like].
Palace of the brine: slower tempo song, with a boogie vibe to it. Kim does backing vocals.
Overall, this album is not "essential Pixies". It has no songs I would choose to put in a compilation by the band, at least no automatic selections.
Three stars might be generous for this offering-perhaps two stars out of five might be more on the money, but, like I say, most songs are listenable and sort of interesting.
In my view, the Essential Pixies albums are: Surfer Rosa [I have the cd which included the bands EP "Come on pilgrim", so, why not get two cds for the price of one there?] and Doolittle. The former is more hardcore, and the latter is hardcore covered in chocolate-with the pinnacle of their pop compositions "Monkey gone to Heaven".
P.S. if you like Surfer Rosa, you may find Coldseed's "Completion makes the tragedy" something on a similar wavelength, though in heavy metal form.
If you like weirdly poetic lyrics, try Patti Smith's Horses. I've reviewed those two other albums here.
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The Amazing Pixies
This band has struck me big time. Their music is intriguing, full of information and feelings, yet minimalistic in its melody. Every time I hear them, I keep wondering how could Frank Black compose such overwhelming lyrics, how was he able to express so many things using simply words and tones of voice. There's a fantastic song called Subbacultcha in this album, which describes a sexual experience from start to the very end. The song ends with him saying "you know, when you grope for luna" meaning that after the couple had sex, they found themselves lying in bed looking at the sky through the window, trying to find where the moon was (luna is the female deity that represents the moon). It took me a while to discover what that song was about, and that's what's genius about the Pixies - they have substance - they are much more than it meets the "ears"...
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