Pixies

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PIXIES

Formed: 1986, Boston, Massachusetts; Disbanded 1993

Members: Kim Deal, bass, vocals (born Dayton, Ohio, 10 June 1961); Black Francis, lead vocals, guitar (Charles Michael Kitteridge Thompson, IV, born Long Beach, California, 1965); David Lovering, drums (born Boston, Massachusetts, 6 December 1961); Joey Santiago, guitar (born Manila, Philippines, 10 June 1965).

Genre: Rock

Best-selling album since 1990: Death to the Pixies (1997)

Hit songs since 1990: "Dig for Fire," "Head On"

The Pixies never notched a number one record or placed a video in heavy rotation, but their unmistakable influence can be heard in many of the alternative rock acts from the 1990s that did. Nirvana inherited the dramatic soft-to-loud song structures from the Pixies, and nearly every novelty hit about spaceships owes a debt to the short-lived band. With an intriguing sound that combined surf rock, psychedelia, post-punk noise, and pop hooks, the Pixies found favor with critics and college students but were never embraced by the mainstream public. They broke up on the cusp of the alternative-rock explosion, leaving four albums and a legacy that was solidified by a wave of reissues and archive albums.

Charles Thompson and Joey Santiago, roommates at the University of Massachusetts, began playing music together in the mid-1980s. The pair added the bassist Kim Deal and the drummer David Lovering, Thompson adopted the stage name Black Francis, and the Pixies began playing shows in Boston. Black Francis proved to be a strict bandleader, whipping the players into shape quickly enough to start recording studio tracks before the close of their first year. The resulting songs, known as "The Purple Tape," caused a stir in the underground scene, and the English label 4AD released eight of the tracks as Come On Pilgrim in 1987. The following year, the band recorded the full-length Surfer Rosa (1988) and quickly amassed a small but ardent group of admirers.

Surfer Rosa displays the Pixies' talents in full bloom: Santiago's screeching blasts of guitar noise, Lovering's meaty drumming, and the combination of Deal's delicate vocals with Black Francis's manic, possessed shouting, all wrapped in giddy pop song structures. Most of the tracks are built on their signature dynamic: softly strummed chords that build to a thunderous eruption, lending an apocalyptic air to Black Francis's lyrics (sometimes sung in Spanish) of surreal sexual and religious imagery. The result is strange, riveting, fun, and utterly original.

The band immediately joined the ranks of top post-punk innovators like Sonic Youth and Husker Du, and embarked on their first headlining tour. The album Doolittle followed in 1989. Marked by stronger hooks and less abrasive production, it led to brief MTV exposure for the single "Hear Comes Your Man." While the Pixies' audience in America remained cult-sized, their popularity exploded in Great Britain, where the album peaked at number eight on the pop album charts.

The Pixies began the 1990s with a short break, during which Deal formed the Breeders with Tanya Donelly from Throwing Muses and released the album Pod (1990). Late 1990 saw the release of the third Pixies album, Bossanova. The record is a departure from the full-out rock of their previous work. It features an expansive, stretched-out sound and an emphasis on nuanced playing. Many of the songs reflect Black Francis's interest in UFOs and aliens, as well as the bold, twangy guitar sound of surf rock. "Down to the Well" and "The Happening" are sci-fi epics that evoke the cold nocturnal desert chill of the legendary UFO crash site in Roswell, New Mexico. "Dig for Fire" and "Allison" provide twisted-pop charm, and the album closes with the dreamy ballad "Havolina."

Although the band remained on the fringe in their native country, Bossanova brought them even greater success in England. Though not as revered as Surfer Rosa or Doolittle, Bossanova was replete with the atmospheric soundscapes that inspired the experimental sounds of English bands like Blur and Radiohead.

During the Bossanova tour, Black Francis grew increasingly frustrated with Deal's lack of professionalism, and Deal responded with pointed quips throughout the shows. Tension between the two mounted, and an American tour was canceled. Black Francis went to work writing a new album and called the group to Paris in early 1991 to record. During the sessions, Black Francis exercised his authority as lead songwriter and sole creative force, shutting out any Deal contributions save for bass duties. The resulting album, Trompe le Monde (1991), is an abrasive affair: The music is breathless, but somewhat clipped. Nevertheless, Trompe is an enthralling album and boasts a handful of the band's most rousing songs, including the straight-ahead rock of "Letter to Memphis" and an incendiary cover of Jesus and Mary Chain's "Head On." The album was heavily promoted, but yet again the Pixies failed to catch fire with a broad American audience. Ironically, the record was released on the heels of Nirvana's Nevermind, which supplanted the Pixies on the alternative-rock throne.

The Pixies supported U2 on the Zoo TV tour in 1992 and then went on another hiatus. Black Francis changed his name to Frank Black and released an eponymous solo album in the summer of 1993. During an interview with the BBC, he announced the breakup of the Pixies; he informed the rest of the band later that day. Kim Deal went on to record with the Breeders and scored a major hit with the album Last Splash (1993). Deal dabbled with different bands and took nearly ten years to record a follow-up to Last Splash ; Black released a string of well-received albums with his band the Catholics.

In 1997 Elektra released Death to the Pixies 1987–1991, a greatest hits compilation packaged with a blistering live concert recording. The release kicked off a Pixies renaissance marked by constant name-dropping by younger bands and an English documentary film. A collection of live outtakes, Pixies at the BBC (1998) and Complete B Sides (2001), followed. The independent label spinART repackaged the original "Purple Tape" in 2002 as Pixies. This constant stream of releases is a testament to the Pixies' influence and the enduring strength of their work. Few bands have been as energetic, experimental, and tuneful at the same time. Indeed, their albums still sound like transmissions from the future, emanations from an alternate-rock universe where twisted intelligence and fun go hand in hand.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

Come On Pilgrim (4AD/Elektra, 1987); Surfer Rosa (4AD/Elektra, 1988); Doolittle (4AD/Elektra, 1989); Bossanova (4AD/Elektra, 1990); Trompe le Monde (4AD/Elektra, 1991); Death to the Pixies 1987–1991 (4AD/Elektra, 1997); Pixies at the BBC (4AD/Elektra, 1998); Complete B-Sides (4AD, 2001); Pixies (spinART, 2002).