“What Goes On”, opening track of Pixies first album since 1991’s Trompe Le Monde, proves a suitably thrilling beginning for a set that has been much anticipated by fans who may have been concerned that Black Francis’ crew were happy as a heritage act. The chugger-chugger rhythm combines with plenty of volume and feedback and suggests a band that isn’t just going through the motions. This should cause massed sighs of relief to those who haven’t heard these songs over the three EPs and a download that were released over the last few months.
When Pixies first appeared in the late 1980s, they stood out because of the loud-quiet-loud-quiet progression of their songs (which was soon appropriated by Nirvana and numerous others), the sung-screamed vocals and the intriguing lyrics of incest, aliens and biblical craziness. In 2014, there’s still plenty of “loud” in tunes like “Bagboy” and “Blue Eye Hexe” and there’s a fair amount of “quiet” in the likes of “Silver Snail” and “Ring The Bell”, but not so much of the loud-quiet-loud-quiet of yesteryear. The screaming is also less evident than previously and is largely replaced by a style considerably less damaging to Black Francis’ vocal chords. The lyrics are also less intriguing than previously. However, this only suggests that they have not quite regained the greatness that they once seemed to be able to display at will. Pixies are still a rock solid band with plenty in the tank.
“Bagboy” may be one of the strongest tracks on Indie Cindy but it also illuminates the real problem with the 2014 incarnation of Pixies. Jeremy Dubs’ imitation of, former bass player, Kim Deal’s backing vocals illustrate just how much she is missed. The female influence that is lost by her absence leaves a big void. Let’s hope they can all kiss and make up before Pixies next go into the recording studio and then really soar.
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