Somehow I’ve been a latecomer to my required duty as a college educated white guy to love the Pixies. But in the last year I sucked it up, bought all their records, and decided there was definitely something to this humble four-piece band that just happened to invent 90s music with their first two albums. And yes, these two albums are definitely my favorites. Surfer Rosa is the epitome of rocking out with reckless abandon and the first side of Doolittle is packed with anthemic tracks that weasel their way into your brain for the rest of your life… dun dun dun. Though the band’s next two albums aren’t as fondly remembered, I’m here to tell you (because I’m sure you’ve been waiting for my opinion for the last 20 years) that they still kick serious amounts of ass, probably more ass than most bands besides the Pixies could handle.
There are some really amazing songs on these records, my favorite of which is the title track from 1991’s Trompe le Monde. “Trompe le Monde” is the sound of a band rallying, coming together one last time to finish off their legacy with real purpose and strength. It might also be the most jam-packed two minutes of music outside of a Wire song. There are tempo pushes, epic choruses, and even some guitar tapping thrown in for good measure all without ever blurring together or ever obscuring Black Francis’ brilliant vocal melody. I’ve read plenty of criticism claiming the album was was written essentially as a Black Francis solo LP, and that sounds pretty accurate, but it doesn’t matter in the slightest because on Trompe le Monde the Pixies are all fully invested again, and there isn’t a whole lot than can stand in their way when these four put their mind to it.