Review Summary: Oh look, a Pixes album. Must be great :)
OMG this album kicks my butt.. After much critical and some indie / underground success, the Pixes were on a creative roll back in the late '80's. And to get the '90's started right they would make this album,
Bossanove.
Right off you can hear Bossanova is going to be a little different then previous efforts by the group. Although produced and engineered by the same team that worked on the now classic
Doolittle less then two years before, it has a more polished, layered, and textured sound then the band possessed up to this point.
Kicking it all off with the surf rock instrumental
Cecilia Ann the album roars from the start. Guitarist Joey Santiago is especially good on this cut, laying down some sonic Beach Boys twang while the rock solid rhythm section of bassist Kim Deal and David Lovering keep everything well anchored. But its anchors away lol with the next cut,
Rock Music. Two minutes of ranting and screaming by singer Black Francis, and music so vicious if it were real it could blow on you and you'd turn to dust. I have no idea what this song is about, as the vocals are a scream. And really, the best thing is not knowing what its about. It's called Rock Music and it could burn down a barn, that's all I need to know.
Oh velveteen.....the real start of the album is at hand now, as the lovely and lush lead single
Velouria spills from the speakers next. This song sets the tone for the rest of the album as its the first true song of the record, and features Kim Deal on vocals for the first time. Its a mid tempo number and reveals strong songwriting skills that while apparent before, were never quite this clear. The production makes the difference here, as the smoothing out of jagged edges and bolstering of the mix allow the songs to be fully fleshed out on record like never before.
From here on its just a matter of letting the album lead you. This is not the first Pixies album with a mainstream
sound, but it is the first where you could say they were trying to make it sound
real good in a studio craft sense. Every sound and nuance is honed to perfection, from the rich harmony vocals to the clean guitar work and tight, explosive drums of David Lovering. Some felt this recording was too
refined to be a Pixies album, but the songs here overcome any niggles some might have about that. And the album sounds
great. So 'peeps should stfu and enjoy greatness. =]
This album is very focused and expansive. It feels like a large work, a lot to take in.
Ana is barely two minutes long but feels like five with it's mellow guitar intro and lush harmony vocals,
Is She Weird is classic twisted Pixies with cryptic lyrics from Francis and some tasty guitar licks from Santiago, and
Down To The Well is what The Toadies would have recorded four or five years later if they were worth a shi.t.
I can hardly wait, BABY!, Francis sings out front of a slow, simmering, bombastic mega riff that would make Led Zeppelin hide their guitars. The is a sexy song. The Pixies are a sexy band. This is a sexy album. On this track the Pixes sound like a wrong turn down a dark road with a woman you shouldn't be with and bad intentions on your mind. They're like that sometimes.
Sexy.
lol ok this review is getting long and I have to go to Walmart. So ima wrap it up. Other highlights include the drudgingly sonic
Blown Away, with Francis sounding like Kim Deal on lead vocals,
Dig For Fire with it's weird, stuttering rhythm and breaks, the ferocious
Hang Wire (which features the lyric that gives this album its name), and the surf punk tune
Allison. And everything else.
Pixies rock, 'nuff said. I have some toothpaste to buy. :wave:
