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billgoodman
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Netherlands
6221 Posts |
 Posted - 03/08/2022 : 12:51:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Stevio10
It's a 'nice little ditty' Charles once described some of his catchier or less intense songs. As a standalone single there's nothing wrong with it though I do hope the next album is darker / weirder / more challenging listen and less pop.
agree.
I like them weird.
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BF: Mag ik Engels spreken? |
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Ziggy
* Dog in the Sand *
United Kingdom
2463 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2022 : 13:16:03
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It's grown on me. I like Charles' vocal.
BTE is one of my favourite FBF records full stop. Great songwriting and mood throughout. The next record will take a lot to beat it! |
Edited by - Ziggy on 03/11/2022 00:55:46 |
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Stevio10
* Dog in the Sand *
United Kingdom
1122 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2022 : 13:55:55
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quote:
Originally posted by Ziggy
It's grown on me. I like Charles' vocal.
BTE is one of my favourite FBF full stop. Great songwriting and mood throughout. The next record will take a lot to beat it!
I was going to mention the vocals! They are very good...less muffled (?) compared to last couple albums? He sounds somewhat more youthful |
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billgoodman
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Netherlands
6221 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2022 : 02:43:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Ziggy
It's grown on me. I like Charles' vocal.
BTE is one of my favourite FBF full stop. Great songwriting and mood throughout. The next record will take a lot to beat it!
BTE is a later day classic in my book
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BF: Mag ik Engels spreken? |
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Jason
* Dog in the Sand *
1446 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2022 : 05:46:48
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I don't dislike "Indie Cindy" or "Head Carrier" at all, but "Beneath the Eyrie" feels like the album where the Frank Black/Black Francis that many of us had been following for decades came back. It's very comfortable and not trying to prove anything. It's just a great band doing what they do.
I feel great about future music from them.
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billgoodman
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Netherlands
6221 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2022 : 06:21:42
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Love that train of thought, Jason. That's how I feel, although I think Head Carrier was very like The Golem in some cases.
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BF: Mag ik Engels spreken? |
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Bedbug
> Teenager of the Year <
3163 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2022 : 08:55:59
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| Listened to Human Crime again today and was really digging it, another grower. |
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auxfnx
- FB Fan -
Ireland
40 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2022 : 02:29:27
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There is something about Frank's vocals on this one, especially in the verses, the kinda whispery airy but strained vocal, so full of character!
Absolutely a grower. I really love it. |
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Brank_Flack
* Dog in the Sand *
Canada
1020 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2022 : 04:47:30
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I enjoyed it more the second time - the verses are the highlight (I enjoyed them before - both Charles' singing and the production) and the chorus's hook resonated more with me this time. I'm still of the opinion that the lyrics/chorus are too bland to elevate the song, but whatever.
I also wanted to join in defending BTE after the previous page's critiques. For me it's an upper tier album in the conversation with DiTS and Bluefinger as one of Charles' best post-TOTY albums. I agree wholeheartedly with Jason's assessment. |
Edited by - Brank_Flack on 03/11/2022 04:58:57 |
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Troubles A Foot
= Cult of Ray =
USA
962 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2022 : 18:18:23
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You know when you see a movie that's really well made but you just don't connect with it? I feel that way about BTE. I listen to it and I'm like these songs are well written. This album sounds great. Frank's singing and lyrics are really good. The band sounds great. These melodies are catchy. And not just that, but the album has a great flow from beginning to end (really good last two tracks.)
But it just doesn't hit me. But then those damn 9 demos hit me so hard. I can't explain it. |
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cptnpasty
- FB Fan -
Spain
161 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2022 : 01:02:11
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quote:
I'm still of the opinion that the lyrics/chorus are too bland to elevate the song, but whatever.
Dunno. Given where we all are culturally, I think maybe asking people to be kind is as radical, and as far from bland, as it gets.
www.guillermostitch.com |
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pot
> Teenager of the Year <
Iceland
3910 Posts |
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Joey Joe Jo Jr. Chabadoo
* Dog in the Sand *
1079 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2022 : 03:25:10
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quote:
Originally posted by Troubles A Foot
it just doesn't hit me. But then those damn 9 demos hit me so hard. I can't explain it.
It's all about the production. We love Pixies early recordings because of the production, the radicality, the SOUND. The lastest productions are not focussed on the SOUND. It's all about mastering and radio friendly sound. Pointless. The demos are real things, the albums mess with the point. This ain't the Planet of SOUND (anymore).
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Troubles A Foot
= Cult of Ray =
USA
962 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2022 : 17:13:55
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I think it's the lyrics too, and just the band sounds so happy and inspired on those demos. And Frank's vocals have so much personality.
The demos are also the best integration, in my mind, of Frank's solo vibe and the Pixies vibe. It checks both those boxes for me pretty well. |
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Troubles A Foot
= Cult of Ray =
USA
962 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2022 : 17:37:31
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| To add on, there's also the lower expectations factor. After all the work they did on the album as documented in the podcast, there was so much buildup for it. But then they are like oh by the way here's 9 demos on some vinyl that most people can't even buy. And it was like WOW. |
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Brank_Flack
* Dog in the Sand *
Canada
1020 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2022 : 09:55:19
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| I would venture to guess that part of the divide between those who prefer BTE and the demos, would be that the demos folks are probably bigger Catholics fans than those who prefer BTE? The demos seem to have more of a Catholics direct-to-tape production, and as you mention an integration of Frank's solo vibe into the Pixies sound. I understand those charms, but I prefer the song-writing/production polish of Silver Bullet, for example, more than anything on the demos disc. But apologies - this is probably more suited for a BTE vs. Demos thread. |
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Jason
* Dog in the Sand *
1446 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2022 : 11:18:23
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| I like "Beneath the Eyrie" AND the demos. I don't have a preference. There's no divide in my house. I've probably given them both the same amount of listens. BTE is the polished studio statement. The demos are a batch of great throwaways apparently recorded without much fuss. I love that we got these two sides of the band. That was a very cool thing to do. And I like both a lot. |
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johnnyribcage
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1301 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2022 : 19:56:43
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I find myself throwing on the demos from BTE more than the proper album, but not because I think it's necessarily "better," it just has more of that loose, spontaneous vibe that I love from the Black Francis name change era of the solo stuff - Bluefinger through Golem. Svn Fngrs-ish for sure. I think a lot of what some folks might want from new Pixies is the similar loose but also menacing vibe from everything prior to Bossanova. Plenty of the menacing vibe carried over into Bossanova and Trompe, but those were highly polished and produced albums to my ear. The 2.0 stuff is even more produced. I won't get into details of the new albums since it's not really the thread for it, but I think they backed off the production a nice amount and things feel a touch more natural on BTE, and Head Carrier as well for that matter, for the most part.
Human Crime feels like a step in a slightly different direction. It fits its the vibe of some of the more upbeat tracks from Head Carrier, but it's something else too, something fresh, for the Pixies anyway. Like the sunrise after the long spooky night of BTE. I love the keys. And the Pixies have plenty of sunny sounding tracks - even back in the day. I know Human Crime is something new, but other happier, kind of radio-friendly tracks come to mind - Here Comes Your Man, La La Love You, Allison, Dig For Fire... it's not unprecedented. And if we want to back out of the Pixies idiom a smidge, nothing he or the Pixies have done have been so close in tone and atmosphere to TOTY as this, as far as I can recall. Sounds like the Teenager from TOTY approaching the end of Middle Age - in a good way. And TOTY is effing unimpeachable as far as I'm concerned.
Like I said, I dig it. I really dig it. And I don't think the message is bland at all. We need a hell of a lot more of that kind of messaging these days, whether there's a market for it or not.
Regardless, I'm always interested in what Charles and the band have going on. What I'd like to hear most and what they do are mutually exclusive concepts. I'm sure a lot of you would disagree with my TOTY reference, but if they're rustling up a TOTY vibe like this for the rest of whatever is coming next, whether it's deliberate or not, sign me the hell up. This hints at the possibility, I think...
I had a bad reaction to your public hobby writings. |
Edited by - johnnyribcage on 03/14/2022 05:28:29 |
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Bedbug
> Teenager of the Year <
3163 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2022 : 08:20:15
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Enjoying reading everyone’s thoughts
So the BTE demos are not streaming anywhere? |
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johnnyribcage
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1301 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2022 : 11:23:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Bedbug
Enjoying reading everyone’s thoughts
So the BTE demos are not streaming anywhere?
They’re on Apple Music. I assume if they’re there, they’re probably on all the major platforms, but I haven’t checked.
I had a bad reaction to your public hobby writings. |
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Brank_Flack
* Dog in the Sand *
Canada
1020 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2022 : 15:27:57
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| I've listened to them on Spotify - I assume they're still up, but I followed Neil and got out of that place. |
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Bedbug
> Teenager of the Year <
3163 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2022 : 18:12:44
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I just realized I was thinking of the wrong things when you all were talking about demos.
You’re talking about the other songs, like Hey Debussy etc?
I was thinking of the podcast versions of the BTE album songs like Daniel Boone, which also are very good from what I recall (I like podcast version of Daniel Boone better than album version)
In any case I like it all, and I hope we get fed more scraps |
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Troubles A Foot
= Cult of Ray =
USA
962 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2022 : 22:34:10
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quote:
Originally posted by johnnyribcage
And the Pixies have plenty of sunny sounding tracks - even back in the day. I know Human Crime is something new, but other happier, kind of radio-friendly tracks come to mind - Here Comes Your Man, La La Love You, Allison, Dig For Fire... it's not unprecedented.
I had a feeling someone would say this. My argument against that is Here Comes Your Man and La La Love You, their entire conceptual point is subverting what people expect from the Pixies and doing a catchy, accessible song. That's why Man begins with the cheeky Hard Day's Night chord and that's why La La Love You is over the top goofy nonsense.
This song, and the recent trend of them sounding more accessible and polished and nice, is a totally different thing. Now it's the status quo. This isn't the Pixies subverting your idea of what a Pixies single is. It's them putting out a nice, melodic song and wanting people to like it.
I personally don't consider Allison or Dig For Fire in that category so I don't have much a response, except that I consider Allison still pretty scrappy (and it's insanely short), and Dig For Fire is extremely weird and not mainstream at all to my ears.
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Bedbug
> Teenager of the Year <
3163 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2022 : 03:41:01
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I would tend to agree with Trouble at this point, although sometimes I wonder if Frank even knows what he’s doing as he does it
For the Nth time, the 2.0 sound isn’t going to create the kind of fans the 1.0 sound did anyway, so I’m not sure who cares that 2.0 singles are radio friendly or whatever. |
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johnnyribcage
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1301 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2022 : 07:05:46
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Ah, praise be to Subjectivity.
I had a bad reaction to your public hobby writings. |
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johnnyribcage
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1301 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2022 : 08:40:58
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I genuinely think there probably isn’t a strategy at this point to the songs they’re creating in terms of targeting an audience. They’re just doing what they want to do and hoping people like it but probably not giving much of a shit if they don’t. Charles, I assume, is just writing songs like he always has and the Pixies are arranging and performing them. Which is A OK in my book. Just my gut feeling on it.
I had a bad reaction to your public hobby writings. |
Edited by - johnnyribcage on 03/16/2022 08:48:48 |
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johnnyribcage
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1301 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2022 : 09:03:10
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quote:
Originally posted by Troubles A Foot
quote:
Originally posted by johnnyribcage
And the Pixies have plenty of sunny sounding tracks - even back in the day. I know Human Crime is something new, but other happier, kind of radio-friendly tracks come to mind - Here Comes Your Man, La La Love You, Allison, Dig For Fire... it's not unprecedented.
Dig For Fire is extremely weird and not mainstream at all to my ears.
The only thing I would say to that is that Dig For Fire sounds extremely contemporary for late 80s to pre-grunge ‘90 pop rock. It’s only weird to me in the context that it doesn’t sound like Pixies that came before it. But it fits right in with a ton of stuff that was big on MTV at the time - the production, the chorus, the arrangement.
Talking Heads were a phenomenon in the 80s and Dig for Fire is very Talking Heads-ish, albeit pretty pedestrian in its weirdness compared to some of the big Talking Heads hits. It was also one of the two singles from Bossanova, so they or 4AD had to have been smelling some commercial potential on it.
Oh and there was an MTV video for it… Allison too… 
https://youtu.be/n37Bdr559to
I had a bad reaction to your public hobby writings. |
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johnnyribcage
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1301 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2022 : 10:14:25
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quote:
Originally posted by Troubles A Foot
quote:
Originally posted by johnnyribcage
And the Pixies have plenty of sunny sounding tracks - even back in the day. I know Human Crime is something new, but other happier, kind of radio-friendly tracks come to mind - Here Comes Your Man, La La Love You, Allison, Dig For Fire... it's not unprecedented.
I had a feeling someone would say this. My argument against that is Here Comes Your Man and La La Love You, their entire conceptual point is subverting what people expect from the Pixies and doing a catchy, accessible song. That's why Man begins with the cheeky Hard Day's Night chord and that's why La La Love You is over the top goofy nonsense.
I have to call you on this one as well, Trouble. I'd encourage you to read the wikipedia entry on Here Comes Your Man. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_Comes_Your_Man
It's not about subverting anything, in my opinion. Now there could be some quote from Charles somewhere that refutes that statement and if there is I'd stand corrected. But 'subverting' implies there was something to subvert in the first place.
The Pixies, at the time Doolittle was recorded and released, were pretty much still completely unknown outside of some indie circles. They were big in the indie charts in the UK.
To summarize some key points from the wiki entry - the song was written when he was 14 or 15 before the Pixies were even a twinkle in Charles' eye. They didn't include it on Pilgrim or SR because Charles was embarrassed that it was too commercial sounding. Gil Norton loved it though, and Charles 'threw him a bone' and reworked and recorded it for Doolittle.
It was chosen as the second single from Doolittle, and was their second music video ever (after Monkey). It was their first breakthrough and first actual 'hit,' outside of the UK reaching #3 on the US Billboard Alternative chart. The band continued to be embarrassed by it for some time apparently and rarely played it live.
All of this demonstrates - to me anyway - that not only were they not trying to subvert some conventional idea, they were doing the exact opposite, albeit somewhat kicking and screaming. They (or mgmt and label anyway) were hoping it's commercial nature would catch on and build an audience that didn't exist in the first place.
As their first hit in the US, there wasn't a public perception of 'what a Pixies song should be' because they'd only released an album and a half of material and nobody knew who the hell they were anyway.
I had a bad reaction to your public hobby writings. |
Edited by - johnnyribcage on 03/16/2022 10:20:18 |
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Bedbug
> Teenager of the Year <
3163 Posts |
Posted - 03/17/2022 : 11:17:05
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quote:
Originally posted by johnnyribcage
quote:
Originally posted by Troubles A Foot
quote:
Originally posted by johnnyribcage
And the Pixies have plenty of sunny sounding tracks - even back in the day. I know Human Crime is something new, but other happier, kind of radio-friendly tracks come to mind - Here Comes Your Man, La La Love You, Allison, Dig For Fire... it's not unprecedented.
I had a feeling someone would say this. My argument against that is Here Comes Your Man and La La Love You, their entire conceptual point is subverting what people expect from the Pixies and doing a catchy, accessible song. That's why Man begins with the cheeky Hard Day's Night chord and that's why La La Love You is over the top goofy nonsense.
I have to call you on this one as well, Trouble. I'd encourage you to read the wikipedia entry on Here Comes Your Man. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_Comes_Your_Man
It's not about subverting anything, in my opinion. Now there could be some quote from Charles somewhere that refutes that statement and if there is I'd stand corrected. But 'subverting' implies there was something to subvert in the first place.
The Pixies, at the time Doolittle was recorded and released, were pretty much still completely unknown outside of some indie circles. They were big in the indie charts in the UK.
To summarize some key points from the wiki entry - the song was written when he was 14 or 15 before the Pixies were even a twinkle in Charles' eye. They didn't include it on Pilgrim or SR because Charles was embarrassed that it was too commercial sounding. Gil Norton loved it though, and Charles 'threw him a bone' and reworked and recorded it for Doolittle.
It was chosen as the second single from Doolittle, and was their second music video ever (after Monkey). It was their first breakthrough and first actual 'hit,' outside of the UK reaching #3 on the US Billboard Alternative chart. The band continued to be embarrassed by it for some time apparently and rarely played it live.
All of this demonstrates - to me anyway - that not only were they not trying to subvert some conventional idea, they were doing the exact opposite, albeit somewhat kicking and screaming. They (or mgmt and label anyway) were hoping it's commercial nature would catch on and build an audience that didn't exist in the first place.
As their first hit in the US, there wasn't a public perception of 'what a Pixies song should be' because they'd only released an album and a half of material and nobody knew who the hell they were anyway.
I had a bad reaction to your public hobby writings.
Good thoughts Johnnyribcage. I forgot how old "Your Man" was. I would be curious to learn if anybody who was reviewing Doolittle back when it came out had that subverted expectations take on it. |
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Troubles A Foot
= Cult of Ray =
USA
962 Posts |
Posted - 03/17/2022 : 13:11:32
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quote:
Originally posted by johnnyribcage
Talking Heads were a phenomenon in the 80s and Dig for Fire is very Talking Heads-ish, albeit pretty pedestrian in its weirdness compared to some of the big Talking Heads hits. It was also one of the two singles from Bossanova, so they or 4AD had to have been smelling some commercial potential on it.
I have seen Frank say the song is a Talking Heads ripoff several times, and I swear on my life, I don't hear it and I never have. The song sounds nothing at all like Talking Heads to me. Like my two favorite bands are Talking Heads and Frank's music, I feel like this is something I'd be able to hear... |
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Troubles A Foot
= Cult of Ray =
USA
962 Posts |
Posted - 03/17/2022 : 13:20:31
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quote:
Originally posted by johnnyribcage
I have to call you on this one as well, Trouble. I'd encourage you to read the wikipedia entry on Here Comes Your Man. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_Comes_Your_Man
It's not about subverting anything, in my opinion. Now there could be some quote from Charles somewhere that refutes that statement and if there is I'd stand corrected. But 'subverting' implies there was something to subvert in the first place.
I'm not saying the writing of the song was meant to be subversive, but Charles and the Pixies know that it IS a subversion of Pixies expectations, even among their cult following at the time, which again, is why the Beatles chord at the start. It's a little wink. That's all I'm saying. It's an outlier on Doolittle and most of their material before that too and it's not like the band wasn't aware of that (and as the 33 and 1/3rd book quotes Santiago saying, they refused to play Arsenio Hall because the show wanted Here Comes Your Man and they wanted to play Tame.)
And I think that's an entirely different concept than a lot of their new material which seems to be more sincerely trying to be liked (which I don't think is horrible, but I do find it less INTERESTING.) My point is, me saying it seems all of their songs now are these accessible not-scary poppy ones that want to be liked, it doesn't make sense (to me) to point to only one or two past songs like that to discount it, because I am saying what once was a rarity among their material is now the status quo.
It's like if they put out an album with a string section and I said oh, what a weird, surprising thing for them to do, and then it was pointed out Monkey's Gone To Heaven has one. Well yeah, ONE or two songs before doesn't exactly negate the point that it's new and different for the band, by and large.
I also still don't think Dig For Fire is very accessible (I note that it may be my favorite Pixies song, by the way), and La La Love You is blatantly joking around about Silly Love Songs so it doesn't make sense to me as an example. Alison to me is still a bit too punky and short to count, though it's obviously very enjoyable and catchy and I'd put it on a Pixies mix tape to convert someone. But a more intense stab at a mainstream single would have seen more verses and choruses added, I suspect. |
Edited by - Troubles A Foot on 03/17/2022 13:30:33 |
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johnnyribcage
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1301 Posts |
Posted - 03/17/2022 : 15:32:09
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Trouble, I think you and I just have a fundamentally different take on a lot of things, and there ain’t a damn thing wrong with that! :)
I also listen to a lot of Talking Heads, although I wouldn’t call myself a connoisseur or scholar. I hear a ton of influence, particularly in the vocal delivery, the beat and drum production choices, and chord structure.
As for there being a current trend of Pixies putting out stuff that seems to pander to a non Pixies, radio friendly crowd… man, again, we just have a different take… I’m trying to find all these radio friendly conventional songs on BTE… that’s a weird-ass, unconventional album (if conventional = mainstream sounding) loaded with stuff that I can’t imagine appealing to anyone outside the Pixie fan base.
All good man, it’s nice to have some considered discussion on this old neglected backwater forum.
I had a bad reaction to your public hobby writings. |
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Troubles A Foot
= Cult of Ray =
USA
962 Posts |
Posted - 03/17/2022 : 15:49:37
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Sure, but to obsess and get very nerdy about Dig For Fire:
The vocal delivery sounds like Charles speaking/singing a number of Pixies songs. I don't hear a tiny bit of Byrne in there at all. Not in the speaking part and especially not the singing part.
The beat doesn't sound like a Chris Frantz beat to me at all but like the fairly typical Lovering Pixies beat. Frantz did a very specific beat on Little Creatures and True Stories, and his beats on the albums before that were more unusual or minimalist and manic to go with Byrne's strange songwriting structure. Or extremely repetitive on Remain In Light/Speaking In Tongues to go with the loop construction of those songs.
The chord progression shares no similarity to any Talking Heads song I can think of, and I mean all eras: the wacko dark weird chord progressions of the first 3 albums, the one-or-two-chords-only vibe of Remain In Light or Speaking In Tongues, or the Americana pop stuff of Little Creatures/True Stories, or world-music-influenced Naked (ok, maybe a LITTLE of that, actually.)
So all I can agree on is maybe it sounds a bit like the guitar noodly vibe of Naked (which much of that was what Johnny Marr brought to those songs), but that album in no way defines Talking Heads' sound as most people know it...
So...?? Care to elaborate? |
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johnnyribcage
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1301 Posts |
Posted - 03/17/2022 : 15:58:14
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As a casual Heads fan, my impression was, from the first time I heard it, “Hey, cool, kind of sounds like they’re trying to do a Talking Heads thing!” My analysis doesn’t go far beyond that. And given that Charles has admitted as much, I’m not sure what else there is to say. I get it, I hear it, and I don’t think it was supposed to be a direct imitation like a tribute band or something. It’s still a Pixies song. And one can fail at an attempted band emulation and still kind of land in the ballpark. Teen Spirit was supposed to be a Pixies ripoff too…
I’ve been writing songs for decades and have written hundreds of them. At least half came after hearing something else and saying, “hey, I wanna pick that vibe up and try to do something like that in my own voice.” You’re a songwriter - you know what I mean, right?
Anyway, would you care to elaborate on what’s so middle of the road conventional about BTE?
I had a bad reaction to your public hobby writings. |
Edited by - johnnyribcage on 03/17/2022 15:59:39 |
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Troubles A Foot
= Cult of Ray =
USA
962 Posts |
Posted - 03/17/2022 : 17:11:01
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I've written hundreds of songs over decades too...A lot of mine are also inspired by other bands but then that gets lost in translation. I'm not disputing Charles said that about the song, as I said, I know he did. But I don't understand how anyone can hear it and think it sounds like Talking Heads. I sincerely don't, and I've tried many times, ever since seeing he said that about the song. I'm just surprised you think it's so obvious as to be clear and apparent on a first listen. I can't get there even after 100 listens. Of both bands. I could probably name Pixies songs that sound more like Talking Heads if I think about it.
BTE may be seen as middle of the road conventional (I would't necessarily use those words to describe it) because of the overly polished production (painstakingly documented on the wonderful podcast), a lot of the melodies not taking you in unpredictable directions, a lot of the timing and rhythm being fairly standard compared to older Pixies (or even Indie Cindy songs.) Like I just feel when I hear a Pixies song I shouldn't be able to predict what the next chord or song section is going to be so easily. I've thought this about every album since after Indie Cindy. I do think BTE has pretty good lyrics though, but not as head scratching as early Pixies/Indie Cindy stuff. BTE feels a lot more understandable and heart on its sleeve compared to other Pixies, which is fine and doesn't necessarily = "middle of the road" (if anything it evokes his Catholics work, which I adore), but it is a more accessible approach.
Catholics to me felt like Frank being honest and like hey I'm done with this hip youthful rock stuff, I'm older now, I'm now in my older guy music phase. Like a classic sort of rootsy sound more for world weary adults. Now it sounds to me like he's kind of traveling back in time a bit, hey kids, here's some youthful cool music for you...It's a little strange?? There's lots of great songs, but it's the approach I find odd and something I keep analyzing and thinking about whenever they put out a new release.
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Human Crime
