I saw the PIxies live at a Leeds Festival many years ago – the only problem was that they were on an open main stage and it was such a windy day that the wind took most of the sound away from where I was standing, so they were alternatively thin and patchy with sudden bursts of noise – not the best listening experience.
They’re another band that I’d been aware of for ages in the broad wheelhouse of the kind of alt-rock style that a few of my university friends liked; for me it was hit and miss which artists within that broad genre appealed to me, and the Pixies always felt a little unmelodic for my tastes. With that in mind, it was interesting to approach them now to see if my tastes had changed, or if I’d misjudged, or if, indeed, I was right.
Listening to it now, the Pixies sound like an evolutionary link between the likes of the Velvet Underground and the likes of Nirvana. As with the Meat Puppets, these are evidently another ingredient that went into Kurt Cobain’s head to stew into his musical style, and vocalist Black Francis (aka Frank Black, both pseudonyms for Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV, a name more suited to Ivy League education and country clubs than grungy rock) sometimes utilises the same kind of tortured vocal style as the Kirkwood Brothers of Meat Puppets especially on the hyper-chaotic Tony’s Theme (which also brings to mind The Cramps). River Euphrates is probably the most Nirvana-esque track of all, a clear inspiration I think for Smells Like Teen Spirit.
Black shares vocal duties with bassist Kim Deal, one of the pantheon of women bass players. Deal sings some songs herself, or adds some backing vocals to Black, but the two of them perform a duet of sorts on Cactus over a good fuzzy monotone beat where Black implores “get your dress all wet and send it to me”. There’s often an almost clockwork drumbeat from drummer David Lovering, especially on the tracks Vamos and I’m Amazed that bring to mind the beat laid down by The Monks.
The track you’re most likely to have heard is Where Is My Mind (although oddly I think I’d heard the Trampled By Turtles bluegrass cover version first). Black’s lyrics often run to images of self-harm and injury; Bone Machine, Break My Body, Broken Face.
I stand by my original appraisal. As you can possibly tell from this review, they’re one of those bands that remind me of other bands rather than have a distinctive sound of their own, and so lacked that particular spark - they can't help having been copied by Nirvana though. I wouldn’t be surprised if they crop up again (I know Black does as a solo artist) so I’ll see if they grow on me, like Echo & The Bunnymen did.
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