Proof that it‰’s best to let sleeping dogs lie

In September, a sans-Kim Deal Pixies decided to come out with it‰’s most substantial release since 1991‰’s Trompe le Monde, and good god was it awful. Boring, generic and uninspired, it was pretty a train wreck: Black Francis (or is it Frank Black now? I can‰’t keep up) sounded older and less insane and Deal‰’s harmonies were sorely, sorely missed. The Pixies‰’s most recent release has a lot of the same issues, also has more redeeming qualities, “Blue Eyed Hexe‰” is a straight forward rocker that begins to harken back to Francis‰’s wild and screamy days, and I‰’d go as far to say the atmospheric “Magdalena‰” is a pretty darn good tune. “Greens and Blues‰” feels like to may have been a classic Pixies song at one point; the riff and the verse‰’s melody fit, but the lyrics, vocals, chorus and overall songwriting are way to squeaky clean. This group may call themselves The Pixies, and they may write songs that on paper seem like Pixies songs, but they lack all the mania, surrealism, and Kim Deal-ness that made THE Pixies. If you‰’re looking to fill out a playlist, you could do worse, if you want to remember the Pixies as indie rock giants who went out on top, just listen to Doolittle again.

RIYL: Sugar, Guided by Voices, disappointment
Recommended: 5, 6