Regarded as easily one of the most influential bands of the late 80s and early 90s, Pixies grew legendary for popularizing Alternative Rock and laying out the blueprints for Grunge by the time of their untimely breakup in 1993, due to longstanding inner tensions between bandmembers. Twenty-or-so years and a reunion later, a new lineup, with Paz Lenchantin filling in the shoes of longtime bassist Kim Deal, has now released Beneath The Eyrie.
Reeling in from the fan disappointment of their previous two albums, Pixies have taken a noticeably darker and gothic approach to their usual sound. For their seventh album, the group opted to record in a formerly abandoned church, and aside from vocalist/rhythm guitarist Black Francis’s signature cryptic lyricism, a few tracks cover his failing marriage. Although Francis proves he still has that vocal spark left in him on songs like St. Nazaire, his overall approach on this record is contrastingly more realist and resigned than the works of his youth.
Without a doubt, Pixies should be applauded for this “Indie Gothic” twist of theirs on Beneath The Eyrie. If anything, it shines a far more hopeful light on this modern lineup and suggests that they aren’t some revived relic from the 90s that never should have been, but rather, capable of some admirable ideas. Lead guitarist Joey Santiago’s surf rock riffs scattered across the album are a welcomed sign that he hasn’t forgotten Pixies’ roots, and when you give her a break from constant comparisons to Kim Deal, Paz Lenchantin’s presence in the album is an essential complement to it all.
With that being said, Beneath The Eyrie is not the album longtime fans have been hoping for. It is not comparable to Pixies classics like Surfer Rosa or Doolittle, and Black Francis has admitted himself that he’s quite alright with that. He acknowledges that the current reincarnation of Pixies is not the same as nearly thirty years back, and honestly, should not be treated as such. Beneath The Eyrie is certainly not a textbook “bad” album, it’s just a message to fans that the band is finally managing without Kim Deal, which is something understandably hard to swallow. With that in mind, Pixies’ rebound with this album is not flawless. Beneath The Eyrie still does not fully recapture the magic of their most acclaimed efforts, placing it in a musical limbo of “better, but not best”.
At its core, Beneath The Eyrie is likely not what many were expecting, nor were some hoping for. But despite this, Pixies cannot just be barred from applause because they’ve steered in a direction different than hopelessly chasing a long-gone era, which easily could have gone far worse. Instead, the eerie chill of Beneath The Eyrie yields a surprising glimmer of this “Pixies magic”, clearly much more than their past two albums. At the end of the day, give Pixies a pat on the back for this one. They deserve it.
Rating: 7.8/10
Rad Tracks: Long Rider, St. Nazaire, Daniel Boone
Not So Rad Tracks: This Is My Fate
Beneath The Eyrie is streaming everywhere now.
