Pixies – EP1

This pressing / mastering / cut sounds effing great on my system. Had to do some forensic cleaning before play though: there was glue residue on the outer deadwax on both sides..(probably from the glue on the cardboard inner sleeve). Kept mine sealed and stored until about a month ago (got it on release) so that may have played a factor but the songs are great as is the pressing. Very detailed but balanced. 👍🦶

Official Pixies Kontraband shop: EP1 on sale online for £7.50 + shipping https://pixies.kontraband.store/collections/music/products/ep1-10-vinyl

No doubt this will raise some eyebrows, but "EP1" is - in this reviewer's opinion, anyway - frankly undeserving of the acidic flak it's gotten since its release, seven years ago. Not just to the extent that it deserves more than Pitchfork's infamous 1.0, either; this EP's getting a 100 from me, and I'm going to tell you exactly why.

There is absolutely no question that in dispensing with both Kim Deal and the harder-edge production of their glory days, the 'Pixies' (I'll explain the quote-marks in a moment...) returned in 2013 with a somewhat diluted iteration. Too many reviews of both this EP and its successors, however, take umbrage with the band's unfortunate personnel shake-up and failure to 'sound like they did 23 years before,' rather than objectively critiquing the music on offer. Taken on face-value, this is a good 10", with just enough aural filth to justify the old Pixies name, and more than enough that if *any* other band had made its debut with these songs, they would be lauded as 'the best thing since the Pixies.' And that's what this is - the best thing since the Pixies. What it's not - in my opinion - is *the* Pixies...

"EP1" opens with the soft, glistening "Andro Queen", whose gentle chimes and throwback Spanish-lyric interpolations perhaps better than any other track here herald a new Pixies. Its shuffling drums and springy tremolo guitar are accompanied by an almost synthy sound; Black Francis is as saccharine as he has ever sounded, but no less passionate, with illustrative lyrics that show the rancid pornography of "Doolittle" tempered by middle-age: a 'rusted locket' and '[sacrificial] flesh', but also the dainty kiss of a naked finger, and later, 'loving on [a] bed of flowers.'

"Another Toe in the Ocean" is a thick, grungy number, whose mix threatens to buckle under the weight of its distortion and fuzz. Lovering pummels the kit, and there are distinctive whining leads from Santiago, and chunky, throbbing rhythm from the not dissimilarly-built Francis, who is - once again - just as eclectic and evocative as the Charles Thompson IV of yore: 'going down to the onion patch,' he spies 'the lights of Edward Thatch.' "Another Toe..." pairs well with "What Goes Boom", a guttural squawk of a song, and the EP's closer. Francis is in full "Tame" howling mode here, letting rip above a thick mix of screaming guitars, chugging rhythm and foul distortion. The track takes screeching breaks into a catchy melody for its bridges, whose illustrations of 'Grace in her lace and her stocking' recall the bizarre fetishistic imagery of classic Pixies tracks like "No. 13 Baby" and "Dead". The verses are also great fun, detailing what sounds like a failed recording session: 'ping pong bingo, fills à la Ringo / analog bong but it ring wrong'. These syllables click together beautifully, and whilst this track is one that has received particular attention for its 'poor writing', it's worth taking a moment to remember some of the lyrical highlights of the venerated Pixies canon, namely: incest ("Broken Face", "Nimrod's Son"), seduction by aliens ("Velouria"), and of course, big black dicks ("Gigantic").

"Indie Cindy" is the stand-out moment of "EP1", pitting stampeding verses against a luscious, swaying chorus and bridge; rhythm versus melody; shouting versus singing and a rant versus a paean. As with the rest of the release, the guitars are bright, the drums are hard, and Francis sounds magnificent. It's loud, it's dynamic, it stops and starts - as before, there are clear nods to what has been, but at the same time as conjuring something else. The lyric 'Indie Cindy' implies some kind of cheapness to the independent '80s sound Pixies helped to define. One may almost interpret this weird love-song as a plea from Francis to be given a kind of immunity from the pejorative as a version of his esteemed crew returns to the fold. It serves to remind that all through this EP, Pixies are reckoning with their own resurrection; borrowing tastefully from the past without attempting to turn back time. As with all of these songs then, "Indie Cindy" is - to my ears - a masterful blend of the founders' ideas, with a healthy helping from the ocean of their influence.

I have found the best way to listen to this EP - and everything they've recorded since - is to think of it as having been recorded by another band: Pixies 2.0, if you will. By that metric, it's both a more enjoyable and more impressive listen. Take into account the intervening Frank Black solo years, Joey's work on film scores (Dave Lovering became a magician, for Christ's sake) - even with 3/4 of the original body-count, these are not the same people; this is not the same band. Give it up, already. You like "Doolittle"? Go play it. This is not "Doolittle" - and it's not pretending to be either.

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"Andro Queen" - ★★★★★
"Another Toe in the Ocean" - ★★★★★
"Indie Cindy" - ★★★★★
"What Goes Boom" - ★★★★★

Still available, at Pixies new store https://kontrabandstor.es/pixies/music/ep1, 16.16 euros plus shipping.

It was 13 euros plus shipping couple of days ago

Attention buyers! The sellers payed no attention to me :-). Hence I recommend you buy it from Pixies for only 20 euros — still available new here: http://pixies.tmstor.es/cart/product.php?id=27132

Attention sellers! This still for sale new from Pixies (http://pixies.tmstor.es/cart/product.php?id=27132) at 20 euros, not the 40 to 80 euros that you are asking.

This shouldn't be so expensive, EP2 is rarer and almost a fourth of the price for this

P.S- Pixies are a completely different band now, and I commend them for taking a risk. Maybe on their new tour they may even play "Where is My Mind?" for all the "purists".

There is no way that anything the Pixies do from here on in can live up to the hipsters' standards. I've been a fan for a long time, and I think the new stuff is good. We all love to re-write history with certain bands. Remember, this band had to go to Britian to become "famous". They couldn't give their albums away in the states, yet all the bandwagon jumpers cite "Doolittle" or the time they saw "Hey" at the reunion show as pivotal moments in their hipster lives. When Kurt Cobain admitted he ripped off Pixies music, all of a sudden they were everyone's favourite band. Pitchfork had to give it a 1/10 because they need to hold onto their holier than thou cred. Then all the sheep line up to quote the review. Kim Deal was not the Pixies. She hardly had any input at all... She didn't even fully write a complete song.... "Gigantic" was a co-write and so was "Silver", but you all skip that track anyway!! Does anyone even "listen" to music anymore?