Review Summary: In which Black Francis forgets to take his Prozac.
Surfer Rosa sounds angry because Steve Albini successfully meshed his tried-and-true lo-fi aesthetic with the Pixies’ pop sensibilities into some otherworldly force of chaos.
Doolittle sounds angry because Gil Norton went the complete opposite direction, and by polishing the songs to spotlessness, the squealing guitars and tales of slicing up eyeballs grabbed you immediately.
Bossanova sounds angrier in context, because it paralleled the fluctuating relationship between Black Francis and Kim Deal. One moment the serenity of “Dig for Fire” and “Havalina” lend a sense of security; the next, it’s torn apart by the screaming matches of “Rock Music” and “Hang Wire.” The point is, Black’s madness always had something or someone to bounce off, and that’s what made the some of the Pixies’ best work… well,
work.
Trompe Le Monde is the sound of Black’s anger bouncing off itself in an echo chamber.
This noticeably contributes to a lack of traits that defined the Pixies’ earlier work. Much has been said about the lessened presence of Deal, both in the mix and in the band, but every now and again, moments like the rumbling omen of “Planet of Sound” assert Deal’s importance more than ever. The guitars and drums harken back to the abrasiveness of Surfer Rosa, yet it sounds thinner and more trebly. Thus, Joey Santiago and Dave Lovering consistently sound like they’re working harder to have their squealing melodies and pounding rhythms noticed. While the band were pioneers of the quiet-loud dynamic that was crucial for the development of grunge,
Trompe Le Monde seems more focused on implementing that in the track-list rather than the tracks themselves. Even Black sounds like he’s had enough of screaming all the time, favouring singing in the vein of
Bossanova. However, where Black once exercised his range, he now restrains himself to more monotonous tones and lower octaves, letting the melodies float rather than soar. It creates a simultaneously tense and tired atmosphere that, while uniquely Pixies, feels diluted.
Nevertheless,
Trompe Le Monde sounds more noticeably influential towards the musical landscape than their earlier albums. “U-Mass” holds some of the finest shrieks Black ever committed to tape, and feel like the blueprint that bands like The Hives and Cage the Elephant would exploit in later years. Elsewhere, the sharp songwriting and conversational tones of Pavement’s early output could have come exclusively from “Subbacultcha,” with Black pulling off an uncanny Stephen Malkmus impression long before Malkmus did it himself.
Doolittle may have influenced the American scene in terms of songwriting, but it’s arguable that the rush of “Alec Eiffel” and “The Sad Punk” had a larger influence in terms of sound.
Lyric-wise, Black no longer seems concerned with – or fond of – the Earth. The consistent theme of extraterrestrials and alienation, whether it’s literal in “Planet of Sound” and “Motorway to Roswell” or theoretical in “Subbacultcha,” further contributes to a sense of detachment and fury from Black. Even the cover of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s love song “Head On” is angry, distorting the declaration that “I can’t stand up and I can’t cool down” from an admission of love into an admission of rage. Black occasionally succeeds in conveying softness - like the unusual "Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons" - but it sounds almost forced compared to the forceful growls of Black's usual style. Here, Black's anger can't contain itself, and in the wake of the Pixies' initial break-up, it appears more logical than ever that this was a primary factor towards that event.
In retrospect,
Trompe Le Monde is an album not just overshadowed by the critical acclaim of the Pixies’ earlier work, but overshadowed by the tumultuous anger seeping into the music. For that reason, despite containing some of their best work musically, it’s earned its status as the dark horse of the Pixies’ discography.