| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| billgoodman |
Posted - 10/01/2022 : 01:35:25
What we know (in chronical order):
- Doggerel was made with the 40 demo's/ideas that Frank (and a couple more from Joey) brought to the sessions. They had some good songs that didn't fit the record so they were put aside (acording to FBF in the French Rolling Stone)
- Paz says the band worked on 16 of the 40 songs (bass magazine interview) [12 were released on Doggerel]
- In april (source?) of 2022 the Pixies and Tom Dalgety recorded for a week in Rockfield Studios (Wales).
- One of the songs Frank liked from the demo's, but did not do during the Doggerel-sessions, that they tried to record in Wales. Bluesy, stomper song, "I enjoyed it as an acoustic demo" [...] they tried to make it bigger, better and louder, but "in the end it was just too loud", "too much information". It didn't work out, it was failure, "thank god we didn't release this because we were in a rush"
(interview on Raised on Radio)
- Joey brought some songs to the table again (working titles Howie's Garage, I hear you mary, Taking care of bid'ness, according to Uncut interview). They recorded three ideas in Rockfield (according to Under the Radar interview), maybe those three?
- Paz recorded two songs for it (according to BF in French interview)
- Frank to SPIN: [On Doggerel] "I think that’s one more writing collaboration than has appeared on any other disc in the Pixies catalog. I imagine there will be much more collaboration forthcoming. I sense it.”
- Session in Wales didn't go that well, acording to FBF in Ultimate Music Guide :
"I was not in a good mood for lots of reasons"
I was very frustrated because now Mr Fucking Producer wants to work on all the fucking artsy-fartsy scraps from the margin. I got all these 40 fucking songs I wrote, for once in my life I do my homework............Now I show up with the goods and they're like [] these werid little things that you didn't intend over here bla bla
[ ]
I threw my notebook on top of the roof [..] I threw about three temper tantrums in about eight days
- Joey in Under the Radar:
"we have recorded so far about seven or eight demos for the next album. There will be a ninth album, we’re planning that already. After a good amount of a break, we will start recording again some time next year. We’re already kicking around what part of the world to work and record in next time"
- October 2023: Pixies record a new session with Tom Dalgety at Guilford Sounds, same place were Doggerel was recorded
- Paz leaves the band in october 2023 - march 2024
- Pixies play Vegas Suite, a new song, on the Bossanova Trompe tour
- Pixies rehearse a new song, which is posted on instagram: https://fb.watch/qROLONNt-1/
- Frank Black plays a new song, which is posted on instagram:
https://fb.watch/qROQ6dvc5M/
- 11 song titles are published on the BMI website
It's here: https://pixies.tmstor.es/
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BF: Mag ik Engels spreken? |
| 35 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Ziggy |
Posted - 03/03/2025 : 03:17:57
quote:
Originally posted by Mad Lucas
Pretty excellent live video from 2016 of Baals
https://youtu.be/strfx56Sww4?si=JupNICOZJZnQevpR
It is! I do think if there'd been a couple of fiercer songs like this on the 2013 releases, they might have been appraised differently.
This was Brixton in summer 2016. Needless to say, I prefer it to the recording...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0hqnHTe2fk |
| Mad Lucas |
Posted - 02/27/2025 : 03:42:46
Pretty excellent live video from 2016 of Baals
https://youtu.be/strfx56Sww4?si=JupNICOZJZnQevpR |
| Discoking |
Posted - 02/27/2025 : 02:16:10
quote:
Originally posted by Bedbug
quote:
Originally posted by Discoking
i love baal's back.
 it's educational
Anybody heard it live?
Yes!
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/pixies/2016/lotto-arena-merksem-belgium-23fbac87.html
me posting about it at the time: http://forum.frankblack.net/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=21754&whichpage=2#479429
i don't remember it well, but apparently baal's back was a highlight for me. :)
it's educational |
| Mad Lucas |
Posted - 02/26/2025 : 20:56:43
Classic Masher is a very straightforward I IV V pop song in the tradition of The Ramones etc. In my opinion it's effective as a song because it sits alongside some quite angular and intense songs, the way that Wave of Mutilation does on Doolittle. That esoteric quality is key to making FBF albums such an experience |
| Troubles A Foot |
Posted - 02/26/2025 : 18:57:16
I'm also bored by the Tenement Song chorus, however I'm confused how that's considered boring but Classic Masher's chorus isn't... |
| Mad Lucas |
Posted - 02/25/2025 : 15:04:02
quote:
Originally posted by Brank_Flack
I like the versus and pre-choruses for Tenement Song, but again, it's another one where I'm bored by the chorus (more so for the lyrics and over-production than the chord progression/melody itself).
Looks like we need a Head Carrier thread!
I adore the chorus and think it's an example of the overproduction paying dividends. It just feels so all encompassing. I love the chord change in the last 'on' lyric. It's been done many times but I'm such a sucker for a D chord in the key of A minor, contrasting the Fnatural in the F chords with the F sharp of the D major. |
| Mad Lucas |
Posted - 02/25/2025 : 15:00:07
I love Women of War! I have added it to IC on my media player. I also added Human Crime to Doggerel |
| Bedbug |
Posted - 02/25/2025 : 13:16:08
I’ll just stir the pot a little by saying that the other 2.0 track that reminds me of the BTE demos is Women of War
If that would have been released along with the 2.0 demos I wouldn’t have suspected it was recorded years earlier
It has the energy and abandon that a lot of BTE Demo-lovers love. Not sure why more people don’t dig it
I kinda wish it would have been on IC instead of Bell or Bravo |
| Brank_Flack |
Posted - 02/25/2025 : 13:10:45
I like the versus and pre-choruses for Tenement Song, but again, it's another one where I'm bored by the chorus (more so for the lyrics and over-production than the chord progression/melody itself).
Looks like we need a Head Carrier thread! |
| Bedbug |
Posted - 02/25/2025 : 12:22:26
quote:
Originally posted by Mad Lucas
Tenement Song is my favourite 2.0 tune I think, though it's hard to tell.
It's fair to point out that it doesn't necessarily have an iconic standout tune, though Tenement Song is that for me.
I perhaps enjoy FBF the most when he's sneaking a ton of subtly clever ideas into a very concise 3 min or less tune. I think it's the craftsmanship combined with the visceral energy his music simultaneously brings that makes him my favourite artist. Head Carrier perhaps exemplifies these elements the best for me of his later career work.
Wow, it’s great to see someone else who loves Tenement Song. It’s def in my top 10 of 2.0 songs. And yes definitely lots of subtleties in that song. |
| Mad Lucas |
Posted - 02/25/2025 : 11:44:04
quote:
Originally posted by two reelers
Baal‘s back is by far the best Pixies 2.0 song. Period.
I joined the cult of Souled American / 'cause they are a damn' fine band
I love it, it's the Rock Music or Tame of this album |
| Mad Lucas |
Posted - 02/25/2025 : 11:42:21
Tenement Song is my favourite 2.0 tune I think, though it's hard to tell.
It's fair to point out that it doesn't necessarily have an iconic standout tune, though Tenement Song is that for me.
I perhaps enjoy FBF the most when he's sneaking a ton of subtly clever ideas into a very concise 3 min or less tune. I think it's the craftsmanship combined with the visceral energy his music simultaneously brings that makes him my favourite artist. Head Carrier perhaps exemplifies these elements the best for me of his later career work. |
| The Holiday Son |
Posted - 02/25/2025 : 11:30:45
Head Carrier is my favorite 2.0 album.
Classic Masher (though the live solo version we heard before the album was so much better)
Oona
Talent
Um Chagga Lagga
Plaster of Paris |
| Brank_Flack |
Posted - 02/25/2025 : 06:20:14
Baal's Back: good song, shitty recording
I've never gotten the love for Oona. The chorus is so plodding - one of my least favourite 2.0 songs.
I'm also not a fan of Bel Esprit. Bad lyrics ("a bit more like a chimpanzee, that's the way of this man" is a weak refrain), and the melody is a poor man's Maharal.
My favs off of it:
Head Carrier
Classic Masher
Um Chugga Lugga
All I Think About Now
Plaster of Paris
All the Saints
I think it's an decent, if not slight (Frank's shortest album?) album with some poor production/mixing/mastering. For me, it's biggest strength is the lyrical byline of France, saints, and cephalophores.
|
| Bedbug |
Posted - 02/25/2025 : 05:44:18
quote:
Originally posted by Discoking
i love baal's back.
it's educational
Anybody heard it live? |
| Discoking |
Posted - 02/25/2025 : 01:06:24
i love baal's back.
it's educational |
| Troubles A Foot |
Posted - 02/24/2025 : 15:37:29
quote:
Originally posted by two reelers
Baal‘s back is by far the best Pixies 2.0 song. Period.
I usually skip it... |
| Bedbug |
Posted - 02/24/2025 : 14:41:52
Baals back was my absolute least favorite 2.0 song, but now I don’t know
HC has got to the strangest Pixies album |
| two reelers |
Posted - 02/24/2025 : 13:20:06
Baal‘s back is by far the best Pixies 2.0 song. Period.
I joined the cult of Souled American / 'cause they are a damn' fine band |
| Troubles A Foot |
Posted - 02/24/2025 : 06:45:58
Head Carrier is a solid collection of songs that needs more big standouts to really feel relevant, I think, and obviously better production. Honestly the album kind of sounds like demos to me when you compare it to some of the other Pixies 2.0 albums. But I like these songs the most:
Might as Well Be Gone
Oona
Talent
Bel Esprit
Plaster of Paris
All the Saints
The other songs have bits and pieces I like but don't totally work for me as a whole. Talent and All the Saints are my favorites. I would love if new albums had more fun upbeat songs like Talent on it. Oona gets in my head all the time, it sounds closest to me to early Pixies. |
| Bedbug |
Posted - 02/23/2025 : 18:45:57
quote:
Originally posted by Mad Lucas
I just want to plant my flag and say I like Head Carrier best of the reunion albums so far. I think it's an excellent batch of quirky songs and although there are production elements I'd change I don't think it takes away from the excellent music. I particularly like FBF's rhythm guitar parts and his tone in this period is really beefy and great.
Amazing. FBF is all things to all people. Appreciate your take on this.
For the longest time HC was trending down for me, but I listened to it in full recently and forgot how good it is. Definitely some great 2.0 gems on there. Believe it or not Baals Back has grown on me slightly after really disliking it. Tenement and Saints are two of my 2.0 favorites. A solid album from Black. I feel like this album will continue to grow on people. |
| Mad Lucas |
Posted - 02/23/2025 : 16:08:10
It does build tension, which is released on the melodic variations which do creep in towards the end of the song |
| Troubles A Foot |
Posted - 02/23/2025 : 06:06:06
quote:
Originally posted by Mad Lucas
quote:
Originally posted by Brank_Flack
Funny, I see it as one of the more angular and inventive chord progressions on the album. (I do wish the Goodbye section with the overly-synthetic backing vocals were shortened and mastered differently.)
It's a fun songwriting technique to have the melody stay fairly static and have the chords snake around it
It is, but the melody is basically the two note doorbell thing. DING dong ("Goodbye".) It's genuinely annoying to keep hearing over and over, and that song goes on way too long...If it was like a minute long or something I think I'd be into it. |
| Mad Lucas |
Posted - 02/22/2025 : 17:14:50
I just want to plant my flag and say I like Head Carrier best of the reunion albums so far. I think it's an excellent batch of quirky songs and although there are production elements I'd change I don't think it takes away from the excellent music. I particularly like FBF's rhythm guitar parts and his tone in this period is really beefy and great. |
| Mad Lucas |
Posted - 02/22/2025 : 17:12:54
quote:
Originally posted by Brank_Flack
Funny, I see it as one of the more angular and inventive chord progressions on the album. (I do wish the Goodbye section with the overly-synthetic backing vocals were shortened and mastered differently.)
It's a fun songwriting technique to have the melody stay fairly static and have the chords snake around it |
| Brank_Flack |
Posted - 02/21/2025 : 14:11:51
quote:
Originally posted by billgoodman
Cut all of IC in half, get a good back up singer (female!) and lose the autotune:
the best 2.0 album by far. It really taps into the Black Francis energy. From HC onwards it sounds like Frank is his modern self again.
Which is fine, btw. But IC is very special.
It's a shame most song and the record itself are too long, grating (good word! Troubles!) and the vocals sound awful.
---------------------------
BF: Mag ik Engels spreken?
Agreed, though I'd have to hear that album first before deciding between IC and BTE.
One of the things I like most about BTE is that it's a successful synthesis of the Black Francis and more modern Frank Black approaches. |
| billgoodman |
Posted - 02/21/2025 : 13:18:52
Cut all of IC in half, get a good back up singer (female!) and lose the autotune:
the best 2.0 album by far. It really taps into the Black Francis energy. From HC onwards it sounds like Frank is his modern self again.
Which is fine, btw. But IC is very special.
It's a shame most song and the record itself are too long, grating (good word! Troubles!) and the vocals sound awful.
---------------------------
BF: Mag ik Engels spreken? |
| Brank_Flack |
Posted - 02/21/2025 : 10:25:22
Funny, I see it as one of the more angular and inventive chord progressions on the album. (I do wish the Goodbye section with the overly-synthetic backing vocals were shortened and mastered differently.) |
| Troubles A Foot |
Posted - 02/21/2025 : 07:34:14
I dunno. Jaime Bravo is like two notes. It is so repetitive. I can't make it the whole way through the song. It needs a chorus or something. Look at me getting all Dalgety! |
| Brank_Flack |
Posted - 02/21/2025 : 05:43:39
quote:
Originally posted by Troubles A Foot
Ring the Bell is such a repetitive, grating song, I wish it was just left off the album entirely. That is actually one where the mastering, or whatever, really, really hurts it. Like that song actually fatigues my ears. It's way too consistently loud and in your face when it seems like it should have dynamics and feel more gentle. I can't sit through it. Same with Jamie Bravo. In fact I can't tell those two songs apart.
No problem at all with the tempos of any of the songs.
Yes, both songs make my ears bleed, but I think that must be more of a mastering/sonics issue as I have grown to quite like both (particularly Jamie Bravo, which I think might be one FBF's most underrated songs). |
| Troubles A Foot |
Posted - 02/20/2025 : 20:27:23
Ring the Bell is such a repetitive, grating song, I wish it was just left off the album entirely. That is actually one where the mastering, or whatever, really, really hurts it. Like that song actually fatigues my ears. It's way too consistently loud and in your face when it seems like it should have dynamics and feel more gentle. I can't sit through it. Same with Jamie Bravo. In fact I can't tell those two songs apart.
No problem at all with the tempos of any of the songs. |
| Bedbug |
Posted - 02/19/2025 : 20:08:50
quote:
Originally posted by Mad Lucas
I would love IC even more if the songs were around 10BPM faster. There's a lazy lope that permeats the album
I thought that too but have changed my mind on that re Snail, Mag, and IC. I like the slower paces. I do think that Ring the Bell should be paced closer to Bad Wicked World however |
| Skatealex1 |
Posted - 02/19/2025 : 17:34:55
quote:
Originally posted by Troubles A Foot
quote:
Originally posted by Skatealex1
It's funny with Indie Cindy they got back a classic Pixies producer but it seemingly got overproduced for some reason.
I love most of the production choices on Indie Cindy. What Goes Boom melts my face off. Magdalena is as spacey and eerie and beautiful and full of atmosphere as a Bossanova song.
My problem is the vocals sound autotuned, and the mastering is terrible. But for the most part I think he got an incredible sound out of the band. The guitars sound explosive.
Hear that. Could be the mastering is what I'm thinking of with it's sound. I like how a lot of it sounds but it sometimes feels like a lot of it is kind of overly loud or maybe over compressed with the sounds on it. |
| Mad Lucas |
Posted - 02/19/2025 : 15:45:43
I would love IC even more if the songs were around 10BPM faster. There's a lazy lope that permeats the album |
| Troubles A Foot |
Posted - 02/19/2025 : 07:48:46
quote:
Originally posted by Skatealex1
It's funny with Indie Cindy they got back a classic Pixies producer but it seemingly got overproduced for some reason.
I love most of the production choices on Indie Cindy. What Goes Boom melts my face off. Magdalena is as spacey and eerie and beautiful and full of atmosphere as a Bossanova song.
My problem is the vocals sound autotuned, and the mastering is terrible. But for the most part I think he got an incredible sound out of the band. The guitars sound explosive. |
