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QuaBear
- FB Fan -
USA
66 Posts |
 Posted - 10/25/2024 : 14:02:54
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Brooklyn Vegan review (positive):
Pixies – The Night the Zombies Came (BMG)
Back from the dead: A new bassist brings new life to these indie lifers; it’s no ‘Doolittle’ but what is?
Pixies have now made as many albums in the last 10 years as they did in their original six year run, and if none of the 2000s-on albums are as good as the ones on 4AD with Kim Deal, the band (Black Francis, Joey Santiago, and David Lovering) have settled into a comfortable style that recalls their heyday but reflects their age with a gentler style. The Night the Zombies Came is the Pixies 10th album and first with new bassist Emma Richardson (ex-Band of Skulls), and the change seems to have invigorated the band. Also changed them just a little. Richardson’s most obvious contribution to the record is not the bass but her backing vocals. She sings on nearly every song and is featured prominently, moreso than Kim Deal ever was, even if she never takes lead. Her voice sounds great with Black Francis’ and makes this album distinct in the band’s discography, though it makes it a little less Pixies-ish. (The difference between a Pixies album and a Frank Black solo album these days seems to be name only.) Still, we get the surfy, tremolo’d guitar, sci-fi lyrics and driving basslines we associate with the band, Black Francis sounds like he’s having fun this time, and the songs are pretty good — especially the album’s delightful, Phil Spector-esque title track. To further the zombie theme, an alternate title for this album might be Pixies: Back from the Dead. |
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tamefan
- FB Fan -
Canada
239 Posts |
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billgoodman
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Netherlands
6214 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2024 : 22:30:43
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Isn't it funny that Pixies are around long enough now that the stories in the reviews are changing:
we can't compare it forever to Doolittle
yeah, this is kinda good in its own way...
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BF: Mag ik Engels spreken? |
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Sprite
* Dog in the Sand *
1334 Posts |
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Jamie
- FB Fan -
USA
110 Posts |
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Brank_Flack
* Dog in the Sand *
Canada
1017 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2024 : 06:47:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Jamie
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-night-the-zombies-came-mw0004342091 - A 3.5/5 star review from All Music Guide that reads more positive than that. Also I think they've revised a couple old ratings up half a star, Trompe is 4.5/5 and BTE is 4/5.
Yeah, a good review and glad to see BTE get bumped up to 4.
This is dead on: "The sophisticated tempo shifts on songs such as "Hypnotised" heighten the album's playful mood, but every now and then, unimaginative production and arrangement choices threaten to snuff out Zombies' spark. On "I Hear You Mary," an '80s hard rock sheen steamrolls over its imagery of runaway gargoyles and daffodils blooming among tombs." |
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Troubles A Foot
= Cult of Ray =
USA
955 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2024 : 21:54:10
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quote:
Originally posted by Brank_Flack
This is dead on: "The sophisticated tempo shifts on songs such as "Hypnotised" heighten the album's playful mood, but every now and then, unimaginative production and arrangement choices threaten to snuff out Zombies' spark. On "I Hear You Mary," an '80s hard rock sheen steamrolls over its imagery of runaway gargoyles and daffodils blooming among tombs."
It's nice to know I'm not totally crazy and alone. I really feel like this album is just the least interesting thing Frank and especially the Pixies has ever done. Unimaginative production is right. And I feel like I've heard every melody before except for a few bits. Stuff like Mercy Me may work well on Fastman Raiderman but it sounds strained and out of place on a Pixies album, and I don't think the band is up to the task of making that stuff feel exciting or even sincere.
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Brank_Flack
* Dog in the Sand *
Canada
1017 Posts |
Posted - 10/30/2024 : 06:36:10
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| While I tend to agree with you in general about Tom as producer, I disagree re: Mercy Me - it's going for late Leonard Cohen rather than Americana, so I think it genuinely works better with the Pixies arrangement vs. a Nashville arrangement. Accordingly, there is supposed to be a layer or so of lackadaisical but melancholic distance to the performance backed by a quasi-loungey band. I think it works quite well, but we can obviously differ. Something like "My Oh My" off of Popular Problems (which plays with a deliberately simple and classic refrain) might be what Charles has in mind. |
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billgoodman
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Netherlands
6214 Posts |
Posted - 10/30/2024 : 08:04:21
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Hoping FBF would go the Leonard Cohen route for years
BTE and Doggerel had those moments
Also Dylan post Time Out Of Mind
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BF: Mag ik Engels spreken? |
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Sprite
* Dog in the Sand *
1334 Posts |
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Sprite
* Dog in the Sand *
1334 Posts |
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The Night the Zombies Came Reviews
