Artist bio

See also: Frank Black, The Amps, The Breeders

Arguably the most crucial rock band of their generation, the Pixies formed humbly in Boston in 1987, and disbanded with little fanfare six years later, having offered via five albums and an incendiary live show a bridge between '80s underground rock and '90s "alternative," a blueprint for some of the '90s most groundbreaking artists, and a new approach to the classic 3-minute pop song formula.

Abrasively creative frontman Black Francis (nee Charles Thompson, later Frank Black) and his friend and filipino fireball of a lead guitarist Joey Santiago rounded out the final two pieces of their puzzle via a newspaper ad -- "seeking bassist and drummer who enjoy Husker Du and Peter, Paul and Mary" -- and thus dependable drummer David Lovering and bubbly bassist Kim Deal were brought into the fold.

Francis' songwriting approach was raw, primitive and instantly approachable all at once. Pop hooks buried themselves in the fuzzy, drum-heavy production of Surfer Rosa, with its muted verses and blast-your-head-off choruses and the manic energy of all four band members imbued the songs with an inimitable charm. Doolittle was the group's White Album, a smorgasbord of song varieties, spawning indie "hits" like "Debaser," "Here Comes Your Man," and "Monkey Gone To Heaven."

By 1990's Bossanova, Francis and the group had enveloped themselves in a cloud of marijuana smoke, but as the production grew crisper and shinier, the guitars and vocals wailed even louder. Still, a muted sense of pop perfection took hold of the group's music like determined ivy burrowing under a tree's bark. Also creeping under the band's skin was the growing tension between the talented songwriter Deal, whose side-band the Breeders recorded its debut album around this time, and Francis, whose indie megalomania (think: an alternative-rock Roger Waters) kept pushing Deal into a "backing-vocals and bass" position in the Pixies.

Trompe Le Monde proved to be the group's swan song, as its subsequent tour and even an opening slot on U2's Zoo TV tour could not pull the by-now indie darlings back into the tight unit they once were. Francis decided a change would do him good, and recorded his debut as Frank Black before breaking the news of the Pixies' demise via a press release. Deal, seemingly unperturbed, was recording another album at the time -- the Breeders' "Last Splash" -- which would wind up out-selling each of the Pixies' albums and Francis' future solo efforts as well.

But six years was enough to leave a legacy few of the Pixies' era can match. Case in point: a little album released two weeks before Trompe Le Monde, called Nevermind, was described by its creator (one Cobain) to have been a collection of "Pixies rip-offs." 'Nuff said.

Albums by this artist

Trompe Le Monde (1991)

Bossanova (1990)

Doolittle (Recommended) (1989)

Surfer Rosa (Recommended) (1988)

Come On Pilgrim (1987)

Features

Pixies: The NATN Pantheon
Published March 1, 2007

Pixies

Bossanova

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» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

Pixies Bossanova 4AD/Elektra, 1990 RiYL: Beach Boys, Nirvana, Sugar, The Breeders

The Pixies' third LP lies at the far point of a significant curve in the band's career, where pop songwriting and pristine melodies pulled in the reins on the dissonant sonic attacks found more frequently in the Pixies' earlier work.

Bossanova is superbly crafted, ringing pop that retains the Pixies' knack for exploring the lesser-travelled regions of the classic three-minute rock song. Drawing on such disparate influences as surf music and blues, lemurs and UFOs, the album dances around the lifeblood of the Pixies, which is the ability to synthesize the weird and the vaguely familiar into feel-good music.

Bossanova also gives the first hints of the band's demise through dictatorship, as bandleader Black Francis takes on even more control of the creative process on an album that does not include any songs by bassist Kim Deal. The music itself, however, is far from one-sided: all four players show marked improvement in their musicianship.

Francis' vocals and Joey Santiago's guitar are the two most outspoken musical elements on the album, and often both intertwine in complementary or even call-and-response fashion. This classic relationship moves from Santiago's bent power chord riffing and Francis' explosive screams on "Rock Music" to the reflective "Ana," where Santiago gently picks out a slow, wavy melody while Francis whispers an anagrammatical poem about riding the surf out into the ocean.

Bossanova's most evolved track, "The Happening," features a bit of both ends, as the sparse but forceful beat and dark guitar of the opening sequence and verses features Francis shouting a tale of government conspiracy and planned UFO landings ("They got a ranch they call Number 51!", "They're gonna put it down and step outside / into the light / right out of that ship!"). The choruses and extended outtro float on a sea of harmonies and finger-picked guitar licks, and Francis then turns to more personal experience, peacefully describing a revelation he had while driving around Great Salt Lake.

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.