MUSIC REVIEW: THE PIXIES - "BENEATH THE EYRIE"

MUSIC REVIEW:  THE PIXIES - BENEATH THE EYRIE


This is the first time for me writing a music review, so do bear with me.  But having been a former radio disc jockey (and still feel I am to this day, regardless of whether or not I'm actually on the radio), music has been my big passion.  I love to share music with everyone...especially if it catches my ear.  But this is the first time I have decided to write a review of an album.  I'm not expert, but I'm going to to the best I can to convey what I think and feel here.

One of the bands---if not my favorite band of all time---the Pixies, have been back at it, creating new music after having been on their "Reunion Tour" of sorts over a near 10 year period between 2004 and 2013.  It was then that they produced their first NEW real music since cutting the Kim Deal penned "Bam Thwok" just after reuniting.  Indie Cindy - released in 2013, was an album released by the band just after the departure of Kim Deal (who had decided to work on her own material, and a new Breeders album), was an uneven mixed bag of sorts.  It seemed more of a straightforward rock album than what people were used to from the band.  However, Kim's departure kind of left a void in the album's sound, and while the late Kim Schattuk had filled in during the band's touring, she wasn't the perfect fit to fill in Deal's shoes.  Many fans have ripped the band for the album, and refuse to get on board with any new material, feeling the band's dynamic "died" once Kim Deal left.  But, as Black Francis stated, she left of her own accord prior to them heading into the studio.  The album is not considered their best, and left many fans wanting.

However, things did look up once bassist Paz Lenchantin joined the band as a permanent member, and I have to say---her and Charles (that's Black Francis to all of you), seem to have developed quite a good rapport and chemistry with one another.  She's as good--if not better--a musician than Kim...and can match the vocal range, if not exceed it to certain extents, than Kim Deal.  When the band reconvened for 2016's Head Carrier, we saw a band a bit more crisp, a bit more focused, and the sound slightly improved.  It had more of that "Pixies feel" that we were used to, while still giving us a more mature sound from a group that has learned its craft over time...honing it.  While the album didn't achieve critical acclaim, it was still better than its predecessor, and allowed us to get more of Paz involved in the creative process.

Which brings us to this year's release---the band's third in the last 6 years---Beneath The Eyrie.  This album, unlike ITS predecessor, steers itself more into a mellower pop direction.  The album tends to have a somber tone at times...almost a gothic feel, like in the songs "In the Arms of Mrs. Mark of Cain" and the first single "On Graveyard Hill", which was penned by both Francis and Lenchantin.  "Catfish Kate" the second single off the album, is also a catchy tune that really shows off the synchronicity of Charles' and Paz's vocal harmony.  We also get to hear a bit of rockabilly in songs such as "This Is My Fate" and "Bird of Prey".  We harken back to Bossanova a little with "Long Rider" and "Los Surfers Muertos", and "St. Nazaire"

The album tends to mellow out at the end with "Daniel Boone" and the acoustic "Death Horizon".  This is Charles doing what he does best:  writing songs about surfing, death, heartbreak, and anything weird that comes along.  The album really follows no formal format (no Pixies album ever has), and the thing that really amazed me was the bigger contribution lyrically from Paz Lenchantin.  Kim Deal, for the contributions she did make to the band, her songwriting credits were limited (considering this was always Charles' band, honestly).  To see Charles open up more---and the band as a WHOLE---more involved as a team creatively, we have a more polished, mature sound than the grittiness of some of their earlier work.

I feel you get a bit of all the penchants of the band's influences on this album, and it harkens back to some of their earlier albums such as Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde, to an extent.  Paz and Charles' harmonies are hauntingly beautiful, especially when Paz's voice is echoed like a ghost in the room, but still brilliantly shines through.  Dave Lovering is solid as always keeping the beat and setting the tone, and Joey Santiago continues to prove why he is one of the most underrated rock guitarists.  He's flexible, experimental, and willing to go places many don't.  He captures the feel for the song for whatever Charles is looking to go lyrically.  This album is about a band continuing to mature, sound wise, and those loyalists will hear pieces of their past on this album, but also introduces them to new aspects that have not been explored.  For a good chunk of the band's fanbase.....they will turn away from it, because it will never measure up to anything they put out between 1987's Come On, Pilgrim, and 1991's Trompe Le Monde.  

This is a band that continues to explore their new boundaries, and maturing in sound.  It's not an album for everybody, but it's one that IF you are a die-hard fan, and you are willing to go where they go, and follow on their path with them, you will enjoy this album.  I did.  It's difficult for bands to create new material without the longtime fans willing to shit on anything new because it doesn't sound EXACTLY like their previous work.  Bands mature, and so do their sounds.  It's a process of growing older, and having new influences musically enter their consciousness, thus influencing how they write and create.  The Pixies are not the reckless youths anymore---they're a seasoned band with a more focused direction.  While they'll stretch themselves out, there are still the fair share of elements that have gained the band legendary cult status.  

Beneath The Eyrie is definitely a more polished, albeit a tad darker sound, at times, and definitely separates itself sonically from Head Carrier, which had a very Surfer Rosa aspect of it.  And it definitely outshines Indie Cindy.  It's worth checking out.  Make your own assessment of it, but I enjoyed it.

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