(Alternative) The Pixies-Trompe le monde

[mushroom-cloud]

Hello everyone!!!

I'm new to this so please be gentle with me. I am going to review an album by a revolutinary alternative band-The Pixes. I'm not a very good journalist but i'll give it my best shot.The album is "Trompe le monde"- hope you like it.

Trompe le monde is the final album before the pixies broke up. It was released in 1991 and is still on sale now. It contains a selection of songs which I think surepassed those of "Bossanova." Even though I am a loyal fan I do think that they slipped a bit with Bossanova. They reclaimed their skills as musicians when they released Trompe le monde. Trompe le monde is a much punkier album then previous pixies albums but I think its good that bands should experiment with different kinds of rock.

Song List:
1.Trompe le monde
2.Planet of sound
3.Alec eiffel
4.The sad punk
5.Head on
6.U-mass
7.Palace of the brine
8.Letter to memphis
9.Bird dream of the olympus mons
10.Space (I belive in)
11.Subbacultcha
12.Distance equals rate times time
13.Lovely day
14.Motorway to roswell
15.The navajo know

Track 1.Trompe le monde
The first track opens the song but also the album. It basically shows what the rest of the album will sound like. It has a fast tempo and is a very catchy song to listen to.Charles Thomsons' voice is more laid back then in previous songs from previous albums but is very soothing to listen to. Joey Santiagos guitar playing is great as usual, Kim Deals bass playing is good as usual and David loverings drumming is fast and catchy as usual. Overall I think its a great song and a great way to inroduce the album. 3/5

Track 2. Planet of sound
This is a great song to rock out to at full volume. It's punkier then normal pixies songs but great to listen to. Charles' voice sounds as if he sang the song under water which makes the song very uniqe. It's a standard pixies song with a quiet verse and loud and frantic chorus. I have nothing more to add apart from it being a great song with brilliant instrumentals and absoulutely unique singing style. 4/5

Track 3. Alec eiffel
Nice song for a car journey. It grabs your attention with the first words sung by Charles and Joeys guitar playing is superb and it sounds as if Joey is putting alot of effort into his guitar playing. Its one of my favourite songs from Trompe le monde, definately top 5. It's not like usual pixies songs because the tempo does not increase in the chorus as in most other pixies songs. 3/5

Track 4. The sad punk
Brilliant song. The introduction is amazing. It starts with just the tom drum then the guitars come in slowly and it all gradualy speeds upto a sort of speed rock classic. Charles put in much more effort and screams quite a bit which is a change to the other songs. The drums sound like they are being played by a pop punk drummer, it's very speedy and catchy. 3/5

Track 5. Head on
Its a quite good song. The lyrics are merged well with the song and the song all together is at average ability to what the pixies can do. The bass part is avarage to Kims playing style and the whole song is put together well by the drums esspecially. The song is actually a cover which was originaly by the Jeasus and Mary chain (Apparently). 4/5

Track 6. U-mass
My favourite song in Trompe le monde. It's one of the best written songs by Charles. I would strongly recomend you all to listen to this song if you havent done so already. The guitar riff is catchy and you would remember this song even if you only heard it once. To me its as catchy as smells like teen spirit, definately in the top five favourite pixies songs. This song is a great example of alternative music at its best. 5/5

Track 7. Palace of the brine
This song is more typical of pixies songs from previous pixies albums. Kims backing vocals are great and the drumming is wild. It's a very short song but still a great one at that. 3/5

Track 8. Letter to memphis
This song sounds like a continuation from the previous song in the album. They sound very alike. This is yet another song with unique singing as Charles' voice is echoed. He also sings the same as the guitar riff.The guitar playing is great.the bass goes really well with the drums. 3/5

Track 9. Bird dream of the olympus mons
A beautifull soothing song with soothing vocals even though the guitars are distorted. It's quite cheerfull but lyrics are quite depressing. This is a great song to go to sleep to. The bassline is one of the best things in this song.The guitar playing is pretty avrage. 3/5

Track 10. Space (I belive in)
My second favourite song in this album. Great grungy riff with wierd drums.The bassline goes brilliantly well with the wierd drums and Joes' fills are an air guitarists dream.The lyrics stand out and Charles isn't really singing, just speaking but still great to listen to. I also recomend you to all listen to this if you havent done so already. This song sums up alternative music. 5/5

Track 11. Subbacultcha
This song is brilliant. I've heard an earlier recording of this but this one really is an improvement.The guitar and bass riffs go brilliantly together and it is a very funky song. Its sort of reminds me of suck my kiss by R.H.C.P because its funky and because of the riffs.The lyrics are wierd but wonderfull. 4/5

Track 12. Distance equals rate times time
I love this song. Charles Thomson has really made a great hit with his superb song writting. The guitars aren't distorted but it's a very loud song and sounds quite punky. One of the best songs on the album without a dought. 5/5

Track 13. Lovely day
This is a great song to wiggle your bootie to. Very catchy. It sound sort of spanish and Joey has made a name of himself with this song. Yet again David is using wierd drums. Quite a short song. This song is for all the dancers out there.
4/5

Track 14. Motorway to roswell
The introduction sonds Like a smiths song and its quite fast, but in the first chorus it goes slower. Charles' vocals are great and Davids fills are great. I have nothing more to add because what i have just said sums up the song. 4/5

Track 15. The navajo know
Great introduction with the drums. I like the background sounds that Charles makes. The guitar playing sounds a bit classical. This is a great way to finish a great album. The vocals are great and so are all the instrumentals. 3/5




Well overall I have nothing negative to say about any of the songs because I do really love this band and this album. I have gained alot of inspiration from this alum but espcially from the pixies themselves. To whom it may concern i'm 14 years old I hope you like my review. Please tell me if I have done the pixies justice with this review. I would give this album a 3.9/5.

Egli.

[lilsolsman]

nice review, cool and all, but this belongs in the Cd Review forum... you're in alternative indie now :thumb:

[pixiesfanyo]

You should be negative towards this album. It was sort of a let down. But still it has great songs like U-Mass and the Sad Punk so it gets merit. Just in no way is it comparable with the other albums in the Pixies libary.

[mushroom-cloud]

You should be negative towards this album. It was sort of a let down. But still it has great songs like U-Mass and the Sad Punk so it gets merit. Just in no way is it comparable with the other albums in the Pixies libary.

I do agree with you that the other albums are much better than this one but you have to listen to it a couple more times to get in to it more.

[Joy-Nir-Pix-Head]

great egli. i agree with most of wat you say. I agree lovely day is great to wiggle ur booty to :)
Not the pixies at their best, but an impressive album.
good work!

[pendrightheloved1]

Charles didnt write Head On. Its a cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain.

Distance equals rate times time is probably my favourite pixies song atm

[p3ss1m1st]

I do like that you're not so liberal with the 5's as most people are, but a pointer for further reviews is to put a summation of the album in your conclusion and an overall rating.

I found the album to be monotonous, but that's probably because I've only listened once, I fell asleep at track 3, and woke up later to what sounded like the same exact melodies.

[pixiesfanyo]

....I've listened to this album alot..It's just it suffers lyrically in imagination compared to the other albums. And also you can tell there is tenseness in the band musically.

[Bartender]

mushroom-cloud, you double posted the thread, so I've merged the two (for the comments) and deleted one of your Review posts.

A friend of mine once burnt me a copy of this album, on the same CD as Surfer Rosa. I can't really comment on it though; before I lost it, I spent all my time listening to Surfer Rosa.

[casplengo]

too long

[casplengo]

snore

[mushroom-cloud]

Charles didnt write Head On. Its a cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain.

Distance equals rate times time is probably my favourite pixies song atm


Thanks for that ive edited now.

its good to know you care.

[sr800bkBassist]

Charles didnt write Head On. Its a cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain.

sad how the cover songis IMO the standout song on this album.

i do like Alec Eifel though, it has a sweet music video too.
i just dont think this CD compares to Doolittle at all. it sounds pretty 1-dimmensional compared to the other albums. if any other band made this CD, it would be gold, but since the Pixies made it, it just doesnt seem right.

[Zappa]

I really like this album a lot. My second favorite Pixies record, after Surfer Rosa. I'm not sure why it gets such a bad rap.

[looozer]

I didn't realize that there was a review of this until I was over halfway through my review. I wanted to do it, so I did it anyway. Here goes...

Pixies – Trompe Le Monde
Released 1991 on 4AD Records
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00008K4YS.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Musicians
Black Francis (aka Frank Black) – Vocals, Guitar
Joey Santiago – Lead Guitar
Kim Deal – Bass, Vocals
David Lovering – Drums

So much credence is given to Nirvana, but if you had asked Kurt Cobain, he would probably have nominated Trompe Le Monde as the best album of 1991. This album is largely overshadowed, and unrightfully so. Well, there better Pixies albums. For example, being a Pixies fan and preferring Trompe Le Monde to Surfer Rosa is about as rare as preferring masturbation to sex. As for the other albums, there is somewhat less of a consensus as to which ones might or might not be better. Being the Pixies’ last album (or should I say most recent?), however, Trompe Le Monde is often overlooked and underhyped. It is almost antithetical to some of their earlier material. Instead of making allusions to ancient times, the band reaches for the future. If you have a way of checking out some of the album art, you will see rocket ships, stars, and imagery of space. Similarly, the music is rather futuristic. In some parts, it’s layered with amazing sounds played at a frantic pace. Anyway, there is no guarantee you’ll like this if you’re a Pixies fan, and no guarantee that you won’t like it if you dislike their other material. This is a unique work both within their catalogue and within music in general. It’s worth checking out.

Trompe Le Monde
The album opens with a song that seems to be extremely eighties. How ironic that a band that would influence so many in the 90s seems to revert to a sound from a time before. The song features some cool guitar, and seemingly frantic drumming in some parts. Black Francis’ singing is strange, and difficult to hear. 3.5/5

Planet of Sound
A wailing guitar ushers in the song, and some bells or something ring in the background. The simple drumbeat sets a backbone that the thumping bass and muted guitar expand upon to create a song that simply rocks, hard. While Bossanova and Doolittle were rather tame (ha, ha), this has quite a bit of crunch to it. It’s very good overall, and very energetic. 4.5/5

Alec Eiffel
The album continues at the frantic pace that was set with “Planet of Sound.” The lyrics contain some cute word play and the dual descending guitar riffs are cool. There’s even synth too towards the end. It sort of sets the mood for the album. It’s ambiguously weird in a cool, quirky sort of way. However, instead of being retrospective like previous songs (a la “Nimrod’s Son” or “River Euphrates”), it is has a futuristic mood and feel to it. 5/5

The Sad Punk
I’ve been rather disinclined to like this song because of the introduction. It isn’t very listener friendly. Starting out slowly, it ascends to the same frantic pace as the previous two tracks, with squealing guitars, pounding drums, and once again, fat man screaming. It slows down to the lazy Bossanova tempo for a while, and changes moods from angry to sentimental. Perhaps there’s supposed to be a message there? It ends with some strange, spacey guitar notes played with lots of effects. 4.5/5

Head On
This is a Jesus and Mary Chain cover and, in my opinion anyway, it’s better than the original. The guitar leading into the chorus has an excellent tone. Black Francis’ singing is somewhat different from his normal voice, and it’s cool to hear him attempt to expand his repertoire. 4/5

U-Mass
This is a little college rawk song about college life. It possibly has the simplest guitar riff the Pixies have ever written. That’s about all that one can say about it. It’s cool, cute, and succinct. The Pixies have done better, but this is still awesome. 4/5

Palace of the Brine/Letter to Memphis
These are two songs, but I’m reviewing them as one because they run together. This is Frank Black’s album, but Kim Deal makes a brief appearance in the mix singing backup on “Palace of the Brine.” It’s a cutesy little song about sea monkeys (aka brine shrimp), as only the Pixies could do it. The guitar drives the song throughout, and into the next track. “Letter to Memphis” has a similar guitar-driven style, with a really strange break, and it has some cool lines. Unfortunately, the drums and bass play a rather small role in this song. As on the rest of the album, Kim Deal and David Lovering are MIA. Remember songs like “Bone Machine” where they played a central role in the music? The songs are a different kind of cool, and personally I think it’s less effective than their previous stylings. 4/5

Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons
Okay, maybe I spoke too soon. The intro to this song is just bass and drums. It starts off sounding eerily sad and beautiful because it’s in a minor key. The synthesizer is a nice touch, as it contributes to the overall mood. The song builds up well towards what seems to be an inevitable chorus. It’s too bad, because the chorus disappoints the rest of the song. Everything that was so cool becomes enveloped in a shroud of guitar that destroys the mood like a murderer at a wedding might. 3.5/5

Space (I Believe In)
This is the one song on the album that I am not a fan of at all. There is some cool instrumentation at the beginning. Listen and you shall hear cool drumming as well (perhaps on congos as well as a drumkit?). However, none of it is particularly aurally appealing or cohesive. The chorus of “Jeffrey with one f, Jefrey” is rather unappealing, especially because the chord choice is poor, and so is Frank’s singing. Joey’s the only bright spot here really, as he plays a note or two in the break in the chorus that’s actually worth listening to. This whole album is far out, but this song is just over the edge. On the plus side, we get to hear Kim again, very briefly. 1/5

Subbacultcha
Hmmmmm, a song about indie scene kids or something? It’s pretty cool overall. The drumming is actually somewhat interesting during fills, Frank’s guitar has a nice tone during the song, and Joey’s riff adds a nice texture to the song. It could be described as infectious. There is some good indie rawk going on. It’s organized enough to be effectively perceived, yet cluttered enough to provide a somewhat anomalous listening experience. The transitions are really cool too. 5/5

Distance Equals Rate Times Time
This is another pretty rocking song. Unfortunately, it only lasts a minute and twenty-four seconds. The lyrics are really cute and funny (like most Pixies lyrics if you listen to them), and the guitar is cool. I guess it’d get boring if it lasted longer. Oh well. 4/5

Lovely Day
This is a cool song at a frantic pace, but there’s nothing really remarkable about it. There’s a lot of stuff going on, and fast, so nothing really jumps out and strikes the listener as being remarkable. It’s pleasant, perhaps enjoyable, but not great. 3/5

Motorway to Roswell
Wow. This is a rather strange and sentimental song. It’s dominated by acoustic guitar at first, and then the quirky and strange electric guitars kick in. Joey meanders through some interesting notes before the song enters its ultimate chorus, which lasts over a minute. After the guitar dies, there’s a keyboard outro. In the first verse, Frank sings “How could something so great end up so shitty?” Is he talking about the band? It seems like it could be a quirky metaphor of sorts. It’s a real epic, and a rather bizarre one. 5/5

The Navajo Know
This is a cool little track to close out the album. It’s short, sweet, and doesn’t allow the listener to dwell too much on Motorway to Roswell. As far as Pixies songs go, it certainly isn’t great. As with the rest of the album, there is a lot going on, and the tempo is rather brisk. There’s some tape sound or something, and the song fades out. 3/5


Overall: 85% B (4/5)
As good of an album as this is, it could easily have been much better. It has some songs that are infectiously catchy and well developed. However, the same could be said about any Pixies album. While some of the stuff is simply brilliant, there are a few problems. First, some songs are simply too hectic to attain their full potential. Imagine that instead of having two candidates give speeches at separate times in a political convention, they had them speak simultaneously. Sure they might say great things, but can you fully appreciate either one? The best songs are the ones that allow for instrumental and vocal cohesion. Secondly, Kim Deal is almost completely absent. I could listen to Frank Black for ages, but seeing as it is the Pixies and not The Catholics, I would prefer a more balanced perspective. We naturally get more Black Francis anyway, and this is not a bad thing. However, it seems as though he is stifling her. He monopolizes the vocals, and the only instrument that is really allowed to shine is Joey Santiago’s guitar. This brings me to point three. The album is too guitar-oriented for my liking. I’m a guitarist, so this is possibly a fair assessment. Previous Pixies albums achieved a much better balance, allowing for all creative voices to be heard. There was tension within the group around this time, and that makes me wonder about things. Nevertheless, it’s an awesome album, very unique, and very enjoyable. It’s a different type of Pixies.

[Jeffroeth]

Charles Thomsons? Do you mean Black Francis? Thats their singers name. I dont have this album but Ive recently became a big fan, Ill probally get it. good review.

[Tomahawk]

I think this album is pretty underrated. Motorway To Roswell is one of my favourite Pixies songs, the piano outro is fantastic.

I agree with the 4/5 rating for the album... I mean sure, it's a bit overproduced, and the lack of vocal play with Kim kinda hurts it. But if you just accept it as different to their 2 classics, it's actually a really good album.

That said, it is pretty much a Frank Black solo album. Anybody who likes this album should check out Frank's album Teenager of the Year, along with his self titled CD. It's good stuff.

[sr800bkBassist]

Charles Thomsons? Do you mean Black Francis? Thats their singers name. I dont have this album but Ive recently became a big fan, Ill probally get it. good review.
Charles is his name. you think his parents actually named him "Black"?