Review by Stan Cierlitsky
On Friday, The Pixies return with Beneath the Eyrie, their third album since reforming back in 2013 (2004 if you count the "Bam Thwok" single). The release is also their second album produced by Tom Dalgety, and their second album since making Paz Lenchantin their permanent bassist.
This is about as cookie cutter of a Pixies album that I can remember hearing. However, don't get me wrong, as that's not necessarily a bad thing to say here. You will get your fill of David Lovering's big drum-beats, Joey Santiago's epic guitar riffs, the howls and screams of Black Francis, and plenty of surf rock hooks, spaghetti western flashes, and alien encounter themes. Paz does a great job at sounding as much like Kim Deal as any fan could want, and man, she plays a great bass! I love Kim Deal, but I'm fine with Paz as her replacement, especially based on the music here on Beneath The Eyrie.
The album kicks off in a huge way with three big, epic songs that are unmistakably Pixies songs. "The Arms of Mrs. Mark of Cain" starts perfectly: "I'm not proud but I know that I'm sane.". With a rollicking beat and bass-line behind those words, the song seems a natural cut from them, and nearly a holdover from the era of the band's Trompe Le Monde (1991).
Next up is the first single from the album, "On Graveyard Hill". It's another solid track, and a serious contender for the next Pixies "Best of" compilation. I love the lyrics to this too: "And when the moon grows smaller, Donna picks out a flower. Gives her a witchy power." Just so cool and so funny. And that mix is one of the things I love about the Pixies. At this point, a listener will realize we aren't really navigating much new ground with this album.
"Catfish Kate" is another number here that sounds like a Pixies classic. You could even mistake the opening, or the subtle melodic hooks, for something like one of the less familiar selections on Doolittle. After this point, the album loses a little steam. "This is My Fate" and "Ready for Love" are pretty forgettable. But two of the next three cuts are really strong. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, they are both songs about surfing. "The Long Rider" (apparently a reference to a surfboard) is one of the best compositions on the album. The chorus reminds me a lot of "Greens and Blues", my favorite cut off of Indie Cindy. Next up on Beneath The Eyrie is "Los Surfers Muertos". Paz takes the lead on this, and apparently it's a tribute to a friend of hers who died in a surfing accident. "St. Nazaire" is next, and, wow! I'm not saying that it's really a super-strong track, but it's definitely one of the more interesting things on the album, especially the distinctive heavy metal vibes on this one, all the way from the music to the guttural vocal roars.
Still, my favorite number on the album is definitely "Daniel Boone", the lengthy, languid song near the end of Beneath the Eyrie. According to Black Francis, the track has nothing to do with the historical figure. Deviating from the Pixies formula by starting slow, brooding for a bit, and then offering up a huge key change in the middle, this one just soars eventually. I love the basic lyrical refrain, "Last night I was driving around. Nothing to do. Thinking of you." It also has an awesome Radiohead-sounding outro (think the outro to "Karma Police").
All in all, Beneath the Eyrie is a remarkably solid album, one which doesn't advance the Pixies sound dramatically, but which stands admirably tall next to the band's more recent releases. Beneath The Eyrie is out tomorrow via the band's links below.
More details on The Pixies via the band's official Facebook page, or official website.
[Photo: Travis Shinn]