http://pitchfork.com/news/51356-watchlisten-pixies-bagboy-first-new-song-in-nine-years/
Merely a late on Sunday aside but Cobain favourite The Pixies (sans Kim Deal who has, once again, left to focus on the revival of The Breeders and the twentieth anniversary tour of their best known album) have just released their first new composition in many a year…
…Any thoughts from this side? I’m always unsure what I’m looking for in the sound of a reformed or long-translucent band; is it good if they sound precisely like they always did or is that a sign of stagnation and an absence of inspiration? Then again, if they sound significantly different, does that rob them of the qualities that made them pleasurable in the first place? Oh well…
In this instance, the song combines recognisable touches in the tone of the guitar, the chopped out chords leading into the buzzing held notes – alongside the refreshed drum sound. The backing chant initially grated during the very new wave intro section before fitting neatly into later sections. There’s something of the hectoring street preacher in Black Francis’ vocals before it returns to more familiar yelps in the long breakdown mid-song. It’s a neat combination of 25 year old motifs with fresher interests…Go see.
If I had a criticism I’d say a lot of sections go on longer than kept my interest; curtail the intro, chop the whole song down a minute, slice the outro off sooner…
Nirvana Legacy 
I know this is a Nirvana blog but what are your thoughts on the lead up to and the release of Indie Cindy? How did you view the release of the album in EP form first and of course how do you view the material?
Pixies and solo Frank Black Francis are arguably my favorite albums to listen to aside from anything Nirvana related and have somewhat have stolen my obsession away from Nirvana. The well for Nirvana feels tapped out and I have little to no hope for further releases so I turned my attention to my other favorite musician. Your reviews and comparisons of other bands are always insightful so I thought “Hey why not?”.
Hey ya Brian – i’ll definitely keep my ego in check but it’s cool of you to ask, definitely happy to chip in an opinion and you’re right, Pixies have one awesome discography…
…Only thing I feel sad about is I admit Pixies taste ends with Bossanova (the first album I heard by them so it’s a touch of nostalgia responsible here), pretty well ignores Trompe Le Monde and I have mixed feelings on the new release…
So, while feeling bad saying so, my view of things is that Pixies had tapped out the well of old material with a decade worth of best of compilation, BBC compilation, live reunion recordings in however-many-limited-editions, DVD release, etc. I’m not saying any of these were unworthy releases but by the time this new release arrived I’d been sucked dry. So, I looked, listened, observed…And kinda ended up with not one real impress of Indie Cindy. The EP then album approach – fine, I admit I can’t tell what was the point beyond milking an extra dollar or two out of people by making them buy three releases at a low price adding up to slightly more than a single album. I suspect that choice was commercial not artistic, that it perhaps had more to do with encouraging people to take a chance on a low-price EP length release? I just can’t see much reason for it otherwise (like the horror that was multi-disc singles back in the day – shudder…)
I didn’t even really mind whether Kim Deal was there or not – she added something sometimes to the band but a lot of the time, what the hey. That was a non-issue for me. What did matter though was to hear a mid-pace album about nothing much and that didn’t seem to advance or add to the existing (and untouchable) set of albums. It’s a bit like that new Sebadoh album the other year really – I’ve a ton of Lou Barlow solo recordings, etc., near everything by Sebadoh…And then this album appeared that didn’t sound like it needed to be made sadly. Wasn’t bad at all – but what did it stand for? What did it mean?
Swans are my best contrast with that. Years of other projects…A lull in Mr. Gira’s productivity and suddenly he’s roaring back with a first record that’s already a melding of Swans + Angels of Light plus new post-rock elements…Then The Seers just tears that up and runs away into new territory. And behind it there’s the desire to make this kind of music before he feels he’s too old to do it to himself, before his voice ends up like ‘McCartney’…
So, alas, I’m equivocal. I’m glad the Pixies are out there, I hope it’s perhaps a spring board to something wickedly evil now they’ve gotten back in the saddle…But Indie Cindy feels a bit like it’s filling a release schedule rather than writing a new chapter. Sad huh?
See why I feel a bit awful given I’m so chuffed you took time to say hi?! 🙂
A very fair argument I’d say.
I never minded the absence of Kim Deal. Her vocals were nice but never added too much to the songs themselves. I think she has only 4 song writing credits?In hindsight I feel a bit taken with EP situation. It was nice waking up in the morning and having new Pixies songs available for download but yeah, I bought the album twice…..
The album seemed to get quite a bit of criticism for being uninspired and a cash grab. I don’t know if that’s really fair. It’s funny that with most of the material Black Francis writes, it takes time to sink in. Like I don’t love it right away but upon repeated plays, I learn to love it and Indie Cindy is no exception. I really dig the album (but I’m probably biased) but I can’t help but wonder if it would of been better received if was just labeled as a Black Francis album and in that aspect I don’t really care what it’s called as long as Franks doing his thing. I really like 10 of the 12 songs on it. Greens and Blues is a great chill song and I can’t get enough of that screaming on Blue Eyed Hexe.
I guess they either had to put something out or call it quits. I remember thinking they’ve turned into they’re own tribute band.
You are correct about the non album releases. B-Sides, BBC, live DVD’s and it shows no signs of stopping. I got an email yesterday for the 3 CD Doolittle Deluxe Edition preorder and I know I’ll buy it lmao…
and it doesn’t have the one track I wanted, Here Comes Your Man from ’88. Bastards lol…