For its 30th anniversary, Pixies 1991 album Trompe Le Monde is being reissued on limited marbled green vinyl. Trompe Le Monde bookended a golden run of landmark records - a mini-album followed by four albums, released in quick succession – that cemented Pixies as one of the best for a generation.

Translated from French to mean “fool the world”, Trompe Le Monde showed the band still restless to push their sound forward. Recorded between Burbank, Paris and London, with producer Gil Norton again at the controls, their fourth album is arguably their most playful with Black Francis’s lyrics on UFOs and conspiracy theories keeping things weird while power pop creeps in to amplify the space rock established on predecessor Bossanova.

Featuring singles ‘Planet of Sound’, ‘Alec Eiffel’, ‘Letter to Memphis’ and a flawless cover of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s ‘Head On’, Trompe Le Monde goes full throttle with 15 tracks coming in a quickfire 40-minute salvo. Receiving critical praise at the time and being supported by a huge tour that included playing stadiums with U2, it also proved to be the end of act one for the band with them taking over a decade before returning to stage together.

A brilliant record, Trompe Le Monde sounds just as fresh 30 years on with outlets such as Pitchfork concurring, retrospectively scoring it 9.3, they called it “more aggressive than anything in their catalog but also more confident. They can handle this now, and they do.”

On this final album from The Pixies, Frank Black explores his sci-fi fascination in his usual quirky, cryptic style. Less abrasive than previous releases and with more depth emotionally, "Trompe Le Monde" is a rousing swan song that opened the flood gates for alternative rock bands to finally break through into the mainstream. The Pixies still remain one of the most influential rock bands of the last 20 years.

For album number three post-2004 reformation, Pixies have gone concept. Black Francis, meet Black Magic. Beneath the Eyrie is a haunted kind of album. Recorded in four weeks at Dreamland Studio (a former church in New York state), the album is filled with gothic imagery and thoughts of death – and whatever it is that comes after that. Grunge folk tales abound, like on ‘Catfish Kate’, an infectious epic sprung from a family legend about a woman caught in a fight to the death with (ready for this?) a catfish, emerging victorious in the track’s final minute wearing its still-bloodied skin like a robe. Pixies have said the album is their Blair Witch, and it’s true that there is darkness in every corner. Thematically speaking, Beneath the Eyrie revolves around two Ds; death, and divorce. Still, it’s hardly a miserable listen – this is Pixies, after all. Even the bitter Nick Cave growl of ‘Bird of Prey’ is offset by light backing vocals and a practically sunny guitar intro, turning it into something more longing than savage. This is one of those ‘Divorce’ songs, even if the band didn’t quite know it at the time of writing. The idea of love’s labours lost seep through.

Beneath the Eyrie marks the closure of all kinds of chapters, real and imagined alike. Campfire sing-along closer ‘Death Horizon’ brings endings like falling dominoes – dead relationships, dead human race, dead earth. The twanging, Western atmosphere also comes through on prowling ‘Head Carrier’ holdover ‘Silver Bullet’ (which may or may not be Pixies’ first werewolf anthem), while ‘Long Rider’ takes that same swagger on the road and throws its lot in with surf-rock. The latter is one of the record’s high points, catchy and rollicking enough to warrant consecutive plays. It’s a particular gift, this merging of genres. A careful balance of reinvention and heritage makes the album both fresh and familiar. ‘Los Surfers Muertos’ especially slips into the musical path the band laid long ago, while also paying fitting tribute to a friend who died while they were recording. It’s celebration of life, rather than a Danse macabre.

So sure there’s heartbreak and loss on Beneath the Eyrie, but also buoyancy and love. The one is the trade-off for the other. For all it’s lurking sprites and werewolves, the album is a salve. Feeling cursed? The witch doctor will see you now. - Loud And Quiet

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's only the bloody PIXIES again isn't it! In possibly their most on-brand release since their reformation in 2004, 'Beneath The Eyrie' has the gothic appeal of their early works, the production elements we expect from modern rock and / or roll and Black's voice on top form. It's a triumph in every way, and hopefully the trajectory they'll continue upon is clear. Stunner!

TRACK LISTING

1. In The Arms Of Mrs Mark Of Cain
2. On Graveyard Hill
3. Catfish Kate
4. This Is My Fate
5. Ready For Love
6. Silver Bullet
7. Long Rider
8. Los Surfers Muertos
9. St. Nazaire
10. Bird Of Prey
11. Daniel Boone
12. Death Horizon

VINYL:
Side A:
1. In The Arms Of Mrs Mark Of Cain
2. On Graveyard Hill
3. Catfish Kate
4. This Is My Fate
5. Ready For Love
6. Silver Bullet
Side B:
7. Long Rider
8. Los Surfers Muertos
9. St. Nazaire
10. Bird Of Prey
11. Daniel Boone
12. Death Horizon

30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of Pixies’ Debut EP and Album, Come On Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa, includes Bonus 1986 Radio Concert Live From The Fallout Shelter

“An unparalleled example of rule-smashing innovation in independent music.” Pitchfork

“Smack in between hardcore punk and alternative, their secret weapon was leaping from sweet to screaming, driving a spike into Eighties rock.” Rolling Stone

“Surfer Rosa quickly cemented itself as a must-have album (and) 30 years on, its aged into timelessness rather than becoming a period piece.” The Quietus

It’s been thirty years since the release of Surfer Rosa – a record made up of rage, religion, gore, incest and superheroes named Tony – a debut album so good that it’s since seen as a masterpiece. A year prior came Come On Pilgrim, an eight-track mini-album released in 1987 which contained cuts culled from their first ever studio session, where they famously recorded seventeen tracks in just three days (in full, this session makes up the band’s much bootlegged and now officially released The Purple Tape).

These formative records showed the Pixies to be an alien breed; four oddball outsiders from Boston blending US underground thrash rock, indie surf pop and Spanish-language flamenco with the Biblical mythology of Frances’s childhood. They would go on to record another masterpiece in 1989’s Doolittle but it’s the gruesome glory of Surfer Rosa, and the ruined sexuality of its cover image (a topless flamenco dancer in a crumbling Mexican bar) that set a fresh blueprint for an indie rock dynamism that not only planted the seeds of grunge (Kurt Cobain would admit that he was trying to imitate the record while writing Nevermind) but of much of the best rock music made since.

To celebrate this milestone, Pixies are playing fi ve sold-out intimate shows at London’s Roundhouse this October and preceding them is the release of Come On Pilgrim… It’s Surfer Rosa, the thirtieth anniversary edition which contains Come On Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa and Live From The Fallout Shelter, a concert-cum-session that first aired in late-1986 on WJUL in Lowell, MA.

In addition to both a three CD and three LP edition, there’s also a super-limited and stunning deluxe clothbound hardbook three LP version, which will be a must for all fans. Like all other Pixies sleeves, Vaughan Oliver returns as designer, stunningly reinterpreting his original artwork with Simon Larbalestier’s iconic photographs remaining these record’s crowning glory.

TRACK LISTING

CD1/LP1
Caribou
Vamos (Pilgrim)
Isla De Encanta
Ed Is Dead
The Holiday Song
Nimrod's Son
I've Been Tired
Levitate Me

CD2/LP2
Bone Machine
Break My Body
Something Against You
Broken Face
Gigantic
River Euphrates
Where Is My Mind?
Cactus
Tony's Theme
Oh My Golly!
Vamos (Surfer Rosa)
I'm Amazed
Brick Is Red

CD3/LP3
Holiday Song (Live From The Fallout Shelter)
I'm Amazed (Live From The Fallout Shelter)
Rock A My Soul (Live From The Fallout Shelter)
Isla De Encanta (Live From The Fallout Shelter)
Caribou (Live From The Fallout Shelter)
Broken Face (Live From The Fallout Shelter)
Subbacultcha (Live From The Fallout Shelter)
Build High (Live From The Fallout Shelter)
Ed Is Dead (Live From The Fallout Shelter)
Nimrod's Son (Live From The Fallout Shelter)
Down To The Well (Live From The Fallout Shelter)
I've Been Tired (Live From The Fallout Shelter)
Boom Chicka Boom (Live From The Fallout Shelter)
Vamos (Live From The Fallout Shelter)
In Heaven (Live From The Fallout Shelter)
Pixies Interview (Live From The Fallout Shelter) (CD Only)

Sophomore ‘post reunion’ album from the alt-rock legends, their first new music since 2014’s Indie Cindy.

This 12 track record showcases the band’s unique mixture of surrealism, psychedelia, dissonance  and surf rock.

Produced by Tom Dalgety (Royal Blood, Killing Joke) and recorded at London’s Rak Studios.

Paz Lenchantin, the band’s touring bassist since early 2014 (and previously a member of A Perfect Circle and Zwan amongst others) is now a permanent member of the band and her cool vocals can be heard on the album, most notably on ‘All I Think About Now’ on which she takes the lead.

TRACK LISTING

Head Carrier
Classic Masher
Baal’s Back
Might As Well Be Gone
Oona
Talent
Tenement Song
Bel Esprit
All I Think About Now
Um Chagga Lagga
Plaster Of Paris
All The Saints

Sophomore ‘post reunion’ album from the alt-rock four piece, their first new music since 2014’s Indie Cindy. 

This 12 track record showcases the band’s unique mixture of surrealism, psychedelia, dissonance + surf rock. 

Produced by Tom Dalgety (Royal Blood, Killing Joke) and recorded at London’s Rak Studios.

Paz Lenchantin, the band’s touring bassist since early 2014 (and previously a member of A Perfect Circle and Zwan amongst others) is now a permanent member of the band and her cool vocals can be heard on the album, most notably on ‘All I Think About Now’ on which she takes the lead. 

All artwork designed by renowned graphic artist Vaughan Oliver at V23

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The Pixies are back! Songs like 'Classic Masher' show a much more melodic leaning, harmonied chorus' and repeated one-note guitar squeals over Black's trademark vocals. 'Talent' is a moody and rocking punk number, driven and aggressive guitars power through their three-chord foundations while 'All I Think About Now' is sung exclusively by Paz Lenchantin (One time Corgan affiliate and one third of A Perfect Circle) and is instantly reminiscent of the early energy and vocal stylings of Surfer Rosa or Doolittle. A brilliant (second) comeback, and a great sign for the future.

TRACK LISTING

1. Head Carrier
2. Classic Masher
3. Baal’s Back
4. Might As Well Be Gone
5. Oona
6. Talent
7. Tenement Song
8. Bel Esprit
9. All I Think About Now
10. Um Chagga Lagga
11. Plaster Of Paris
12. All The Saints

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, 4AD release PIXIES: Doolittle 25, a deluxe, three-disc package that brings together for the first time all the album's B-sides, Peel Sessions and demos from the time, along with the original album. Nearly half of the tracks on this album are being commercially released for the first time.

Doolittle, the second studio album from Pixies - Black Francis, Joey Santiago, Kim Deal and David Loverng - was to prove a pivotal moment for both band and the wider scene. For the few years prior, the band had enjoyed cult status in their homeland with their early records having to find their way in to the US on import. Their secret was well and truly out in 1989 though when their British label (4AD) joined forces with American giant Elektra in time for Doolittle to receive a full domestic release.

Produced by Gil Norton and recorded between two studios (Downtown Recorders in Boston MA and Carriage House Studios in Stamford CT) in late-1988, Doolittle was an instant hit, containing some of the band’s most memorable singles (‘Monkey Gone To Heaven’, ‘Here Comes Your Man’, ‘Debaser’). A slow-burn success story followed, helping them to sell in excess of a million copies in the US alone.

An important record, included among the many plaudits thrown Doolittle’s way was Pitchfork ranking it at Number 4 in their Best Albums of the 80s poll, while NME writers in 2004 named it their Second Best Album of All Time. The band toured Doolittle in 2009 to celebrate its 20th birthday and 5 years on from then, it’s now time to give it the deluxe release treatment it deserves.

Like all other Pixies sleeves before it, Vaughan Oliver returns to oversee its design, reinterpreting his original artwork and Simon Larbalestier’s photographs to create a stunning design using metallic ink.

TRACK LISTING

CD1 (Original Album)
Debaser
Tame
Wave Of Mutilation
I Bleed
Here Comes Your Man
Dead
Monkey Gone To Heaven
Mr. Grieves
Crackity Jones
La La Love You
No. 13 Baby
There Goes My Gun
Hey
Silver
Gouge Away

CD2 (B-Sides, Peel Sessions & Demos)
Manta Ray
Weird At My School
Dancing The Manta Ray
Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf)
Into The White
Bailey's Walk
Dead
Tame
There Goes My Gun
Manta Ray
Into The White
Wave Of Mutilation
Down To The Well

CD3 (B-Sides, Peel Sessions & Demos)
Debaser
Tame
Wave Of Mutilation
I Bleed
Here Comes Your Man
Dead
Monkey Gone To Heaven
Mr. Grieves
Crackity Jones
La La Love You
No. 13 Baby (Viva La Loma Rica)
There Goes My Gun
Hey
Silver
Gouge Away
Bailey's Walk
My Manta Ray Is All Right
Santo
Weird At My School
Wave Of Mutilation
No. 13 Baby
Debaser
Gouge Away

LP1 (Original Album)
Debaser
Tame
Wave Of Mutilation
I Bleed
Here Comes Your Man
Dead
Monkey Gone To Heaven
Mr. Grieves
Crackity Jones
La La Love You
No. 13 Baby
There Goes My Gun
Hey
Silver
Gouge Away

LP2 (B-Sides, Peel Sessions & Demos)
Manta Ray
Weird At My School
Dancing The Manta Ray
Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf)
Into The White
Bailey's Walk
Dead
Tame
There Goes My Gun
Manta Ray
Into The White
Wave Of Mutilation
Down To The Well

LP3 (B-Sides, Peel Sessions & Demos)
Debaser
Tame
Wave Of Mutilation
I Bleed
Here Comes Your Man
Dead
Monkey Gone To Heaven
Mr. Grieves
Crackity Jones
La La Love You
No. 13 Baby (Viva La Loma Rica)
There Goes My Gun
Hey
Silver
Gouge Away
My Manta Ray Is All Right
Santo
Weird At My School

After more than twenty years, and following two recent EPs and an extensive touring plot, the hugely influential and iconic Pixies mark their return with ‘Indie Cindy’, their first full-length album since 1991’s ‘Trompe le Monde’.

Recorded at Rockfield Studios, Wales with long-time producer Gil Norton (‘Doolittle’, ‘Bossa Nova’ and ‘Trompe le Monde’), ‘Indie Cindy’ is available on gatefold heavyweight double vinyl (including CD) and CD.

All artwork conceived by celebrated graphic designer Vaughan Oliver, who designed all previous Pixies album artwork (in addition to Cocteau Twins, Throwing Muses, The Breeders).

Featuring the classic Pixies recipe of soft / loud dynamics, darkly comical lyrics and insanely catchy riffs, these 12 tracks are sure to win over die hard fans and newcomers alike.

TRACK LISTING

What Goes Boom
Greens And Blues
Indie Cindy
Bagboy
Magdalena 318
Silver Snail
Blue Eyed Hexe
Ring The Bell
Another Toe In The
Ocean
Andro Queen
Snakes
Jaime Bravo

During their brief career (1987 – 1992) Pixies released one mini-album ("Come On Pilgrim"), four full length albums ("Surfer Rosa", "Doolittle", "Bossanova" and "Trompe Le Monde") and a handful of singles. Posthumous releases have included "Complete B-sides" (self explanatory) and "Pixies at the BBC", a compilation of radio sessions. "Wave Of Mutilation: Best of Pixies" runs (almost) chronologically and expands on the previous compilation, "Death To The Pixies". The recordings still sound completely fresh and unique and inevitably there are half a dozen tracks from "Doolittle", the record that NME proclaimed the 'second best album ever'. There's also a couple of B sides, the live favourite "Into The White" and, to end the sonic assault on a poignant note, a cover of Neil Young's "Winterlong".

If you don't already own this CD - why on earth not??? "Come On Pilgrim" was their first mini album, released in 1987, it was followed by the Steve Albini produced "Surfer Rosa". Abrasive, clever, and totally unique, it defined their sound and became one of the most influential albums of the 80s. With the tracks from both albums now available on one CD, you'd be a fool not to buy it!

Originally released in 1990, "Bossanova" was seen as something of a let-down initially, (it was always going to be tough following such a huge album as "Doolittle") but Frank Black has since said it's his favourite. There are rockers here but it's on the mellower moments that they really excel.