Albums

• Come on Pilgrim (EP)
• Surfer Rosa

1. Caribou
2. Vamos
3. Isla de Encanta
4. Ed is Dead
5. The Holiday Song
6. Nimrod’s Song
7. I’ve Been Tired
8. Levitate Me

It is hard to define exactly what the Pixies sound like.  Their music crosses several genres, including alternative & college rock, but not without the all important inclusion of grunge.  Yet to simply categorise the band and place them into these genres would be unfair.  It seems that almost every day we hear about bands with a completely fresh sound, and the word innovative is chucked around without a care in the world, yet with the Pixies they truly were innovative and are deserving of immense praise.  The vocals are led by Black Francis who has a high pitched and off key whine; but he is an utterly gripping listen.  Kim Deal more often than not provides backing vocals and the contrast of their voices - her soft tones next to Francis’ abrasive shrieks - are a match made in heaven.

Caribou starts Come on Pilgrim.  The cascading waves of guitar and vocal harmonies work their way towards you, as the Pixies find happiness in their unique approach to song writing.  Black Francis serenades the listener in a curtailed performance that shakes you up and leaves you desiring more.

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Surfer Rosa (1988)

 

 

8.5/10

 

Producer: Steve Albini

1. Bone Machine
2. Break My Body
3. Something Against You
4. Broken Face
5. Gigantic
6. River Euphrates
7. Where is My Mind?
8. Cactus
9. Tony’s Theme
10. Oh My Golly!
11. You F*ckin’ Die (spoken insert)
12. Vamos
13. I’m Amazed
14. Brick is Red

Surfer Rosa is the first full-length album from the Pixies. Released in 1988, it was following hot on the heels of the previous year’s fantastic EP, Come on Pilgrim.  In terms of the type of songs the band are writing, nothing has really changed since Come on Pilgrim, but if anything, Surfer Rosa is an even more bizarre recording (if such a thing is possible).

 

The opening Bone Machine positively glows thanks to its electrifying riff, which is supported well by Black Francis’ ear splitting screeching.  Francis tries to confide in a preacher, but is instead accosted, “He bought me a soda and tried to molest me in the parking lot!” Fantastic story telling, as ever.

 

Break My Body continues things well, not being a world away from Bone Machine, both in terms of lyrical content and devastating riffage (yes, riffage. I made that word up just now).  The following song, Something Against You, has a very unique sound to it, mainly thanks to the heavy distortion which manages to both mask Francis’ obscene ranting and plant a veil over a very disconcerting guitar line.  The album’s producer, Steve Albini, has a real knack for bringing drumming to the fore, something which is used to great effect here.  The Pixies do not let the pace drop for a second throughout Surfer Rosa.  In terms of enthusiastic and playful musicianship, River Euphrates is probably the high point on Surfer Rosa.  The introduction is, for lack of a better word, demonic.  The intense guitar playing segues flawlessly into a chilled out, almost euphoric, incoherent splattering of vocals from both bassist Kim Deal and Francis.  In particular, Francis’ ear-splitting screaming towards the end of the song is terrifying.

 

Where is My Mind is one of the band’s most popular songs.  It is a very acoustic affair, but still retaining that taut urgency which has already become a staple part of the Pixie’s DNA make-up.  Francis admits during the chorus, “Your head will collapse, there’s nothing in it, and then you’ll ask yourself, ‘where is my mind?!’ ”  I cannot yet provide him with an answer to that question, but maybe you can after studying this song in depth, as one should.

 

The production on Cactus is very disappointing.  Steve Albini employs the same trick which he would use some years later on the title track of PJ Harvey’s second album, Rid of Me.  The result is the same – a piece of music which should completely let rip and burn through its running time, is instead kept on a leash and isn’t given a chance to shine.  David Bowie would later cover Cactus on his 2002 album, Heathen.  Kim deal provides a spoken intro to Tony’s Song.  She tells us, “This is a song about a superhero! It’s called Tony’s Theme!” And fit for a superhero it most certainly is.  The song is very cool, in fact it does many things to impress, but what always sticks with me is the masterful guitar solo a little after the half-way mark.  In addition to this, there is another downright creepy vocal routine from Francis, where he barks the lyrics like an escaped convict from Death Row.

 

Vamos had originally appeared a year earlier on Come on Pilgrim, but is given another chance to stand out on Surfer Rosa.  It wasn’t broken the first time round, so it was hardly going to fall flat on its face this time.  The primary tempo is set by David Lovering’s drumming and Kim Deal’s bass playing stays much the same as before. But what has changed is that it now has a longer introduction and the entire mid-section of the song is extended and features a marathon guitar solo.

 

The closing Brick is Red is ten times more satisfying than its name may imply it is.  It starts off entirely instrumental, but not wanting to leave you feeling short-changed, it manages to cram in some more chaotic lyrics from Francis before the album is over, “A white moon is hot, the other side is not… Hang me!”

 

Surfer Rosa is basically an extended version of Come on pilgrim.  It doesn’t have any new ideas in terms of musicianship, but rather it takes the Pixie’s inimitable sound and gives you 30 minutes more of what you loved so much about Come on Pilgrim.  I guess the real question is, is it better than Come on pilgrim? Well, in my opinion, it is not.

 

But there is no clear indication that Surfer Rosa is in fact an inferior recording than Come on pilgrim, in any way, shape or form.

 

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