Call me slow but I’ve just realized why I keep confusing Sonic Youth and Pixies in my head. It’s not just the alt-rock sound, it’s that both have a male/female shared vocals (Thurston Moore & Kim Gordon for Sonic Youth, Black Francis and Kim Deal here), with a third occasional vocalist (Lee Ranaldo with Sonic Youth, drummer David Lovering for Pixies). I think I’ve finally (after three albums from each) managed to get that straight in my head. Don’t count on it though if either get a fourth album. It doesn’t help that both have women bassists called “Kim”.
Cecelia
Ann is an instrumental piece that’s reminiscent of Dick Dale’s version of
Misirlou, kind of surf rock, kind of theme music for a Western TV show – a
cover of a Surftones track, so no surprise. Velouria is a kind of swooping song
blending in lost continents and UFOs in a kind of brief bit of space rock
complete with theremin, almost Muse-like. Is She Weird? reminds me of something. Not Nirvana,
something more chanty. Kind of like some of the psychedelia era, perhaps. Kind
of Syd Barrett-era Floyd. Ana is also a dreamlike surf-rock little piece.
Dig
For Fire is quintessentially Pixies, that cross between the melodies of
REM, the weirdness of Talking Heads, and their own bit of grunginess that makes
the basic mix of their songs. The Happening is about a visit from aliens –
evidently Black Francis’ new obsession rather than self-harm. Havalina is a dreamy reverie to finish the album
– is it about the javalina peccary? Who knows.
Like prior Pixies albums this blends recognizable genres with a kind of indefinable sound. Do I like it more than previous albums? I’m not sure. There are some tracks on here I’d consider keepers though. The surfer-grunge-psychedelia mix is quite compelling.
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