Head Carrier

The Pixies

4AD, 2016

Head Carrier is the seventh and most recent album by the Pixies and it sounds a lot like The Pixies.

L-R: Paz Lenchantin, David Lovering, Joey Santiago, Black Francis

Musically more in keeping with their catalog from the first time around than their grab bag release, Indy Cindy.

This said, Head Carrier isn’t Trompe le Monde. Or any other first time around releases. Opening with the title track, it’s a beefy shout along inspired by the decapitated, but undaunted, St. Denis, of all things. “Baals Back” growls and spits ferociously with chiming guitars in the chorus, and clocks in under 2 minutes.

After three years as a touring bassist Paz Lenchantin is now a full time member of the band. Lenchantin handles lead vocals on “All I Think About Now,” a song written by Francis. “Tenement Song” and “Bel Esprit” both deliver hooks and distorted mid tempo tunes designed for radio.

This is a solid Pixies release. There’s more really strong songs here than not. There’s loud-quiet-loud dynamics. There’s peculiar lyrical imagery over top of aggressive and/or punk-ish musical musings. Whether you think of this album as a grimy piece of pop, or snappy, hooky alternative, is entirely up to you. These worlds collide and produce The Pixies.

And if you’re still pissy about this not being as perfect as EVERYTHING else they ever produced, you can add your comments to everyone who hated the latest Sabbath album because they didn’t re-write Paranoid only different. Join the people who resent The Dead Kennedy’s and Sublime for not having built time machine’s back to their heyday. Your bitter disappointment isn’t the bands fault. It’s your own unrealistic expectations of what something you loved in your youth should still be.