Pixies, the legendary psycho surf rockers, have announced their second new album since reuniting and replacing the violently energetic bassist Kim Deal. Head Carrier, the follow-up to 2014’s Indie Cindy, will be released September 30 on Pixiesmusic/ Play It Again Sam.
Working with producer Tom Dalgety, the band recorded 12 tracks over a month at Rak Studios in London. For the first time since their big break in the late 1980s, the band spent six weeks in pre-production: practicing, writing, and perfecting each song. “This was a wonderful luxury, for us to have the time to be able to really work these new songs out,” said drummer David Lovering in a press release. “By the time we started recording, we all knew the songs backwards and forwards, so it took half as long for us to make this album as it did to make Indie Cindy.”
Head Carrier’s first single, “Um Chugga Lagga,” is a scary, spiraling burst of classic Pixies energy. Black Francis is at his best, mixing heavily projected chants with sinister falsetto squeaks. Lead guitarist Joey Santiago rips out a screeching solo that could have been lifted straight from Surfer Rosa.
Pixies also welcomed bassist Paz Lenchantin as a permanent member of the band. Lenchantin, who toured with Pixies for several years, replaces the seemingly irreplaceable Deal. “There were these shoes I felt I had to fill and I tried to do the best I could for the fans, to make the live performances sound true to the originals,” Lenchantin said in the release. “I spent three years learning to understand what being a Pixie meant, and now, my heart, spirit, and love for their music is embedded in me and I feel like I have become a Pixie. We had been more about the history of the Pixies, but now, we are about going forward.”
Head Carrier will be available in a variety of formats and collections, including a deluxe box set and a special bundle offered only through the band’s website. Pixies will embark on a world tour in 2017 in support of the album.
Head Carrier tracklist
01. Classic Masher
02. Baal’s Back
03. Might As Well Be Gone
04. Oona
05. Talent
06. Tenenement Song
07. Bel Esprit
08. All I Think About Now
09. Um Chagga Lagga
10. Plaster Of Paris
11. All The Saints
Pixies European dates:
11.15.16 - Vienna, Austria - Stadthalle
11.16.16 - Poznan, Poland - HWS Arena
11.17.16 - Prague, Czech Republic - Forum Karlin Hall
11.18.16 - Montreux, Switzerland - Auditorium Stravinski
11.20.16 - Barcelona, Spain - Sant Jordi Club
11.21.16 - Porto, Portugal - Coliseum
11.23.16 - Paris, France - Zenith
11.25.16 - Antwerp, Belgium - Lotto
11.27.16 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Heineken Music Hall
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