Editor’s Note: From Albumism’s inception back in 2016, we’ve remained unabashedly and unequivocally passionate about our mission of celebrating the world's love affairs with albums past, present and future.

But while our devotion to the album as an art form has remained steadfast, as evidenced by our deepening repository of individual album tributes and reviews, we’ve admittedly seldom taken the opportunity to explicitly articulate our reverence for the virtues of artists’ complete album repertoires as a whole.

Hence why we’ve decided to showcase what we believe to be the most dynamic discographies of all time in this recurring series. In doing so, we hope to better understand the broader creative context within which our most beloved individual albums exist, while acknowledging the full breadth of their creators’ artistry, career arcs, and overall contributions to the ever-evolving musical landscape.

We hope you enjoy this series and be sure to check here periodically for the latest installments.

PIXIES

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There’s probably no band more influential than the Pixies in setting the stage for the ’90s alternative takeover. Their signature loud-quiet dynamic was copied by Nirvana and countless other acts, and they were just so sublimely weird and unique—combining ferocious punk, oddly placed melodies, surf-rock elements, and killer basslines amid waves of massive stadium sound. The interplay of Black Francis and Kim Deal’s voices was pure magic, and their lyrics were an odd mixture of Spanish phraseology, vampire imagery, references to Dali films, space travel, mutilation, and whatever else popped into Black Francis’ strange brain. However, by the time Nirvana started blazing the trail for bands like the Pixies in the mainstream, the Boston band had pretty much already broken up.

Their first four full-length albums loom large in the indie-rock lexicon. (Their almost-album, 1987’s mini-LP Come On Pilgrim, is amazingly good, too.) Their full-on debut Surfer Rosa (1988) was produced by Steve Albini, who would later develop even more of a legendary status after producing Nirvana’s In Utero (1994) and PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me (1993). Surfer Rosa was a hit on college radio and led to the band getting signed to Elektra. Doolittle then led to even greater exposure, particularly with “Here Comes Your Man.” The band took a break between Doolittle and their next album, Bossanova, and Francis worked on solo output, while Deal recorded the Breeders’ first album Pod (1990).

Bossanova didn’t pack the same fire as Doolittle, but it still contained a lot of the same Pixies sorcery, particularly with songs like “Velouria” and “Dig for Fire.” Notable, however, was that the album didn’t contain any songs written by Deal, and her vocal contributions were minimal. 1991’s Trompe le Monde ushered in a stronger return, though only sonically. (Again, however, there were no songs written by Deal, and her vocals are wholly absent). The band broke up not long after, right as Francis was about to release a self-titled debut under the moniker Frank Black, and as Deal was to release the Breeders’ highly successful second album Last Splash (1993).

The Pixies’ 2004 concert reunion tour (I was there!) was a complete surprise for most fans, and it eventually led to the band reuniting in the studio in 2014, except this time without Deal. The subsequent three albums all attempt to fill the void left by Deal to varying degrees of success. 2014’s Indie Cindy was described by more than one critic as a “cash-in” on the Pixies’ tour (which ended up dragging on and on throughout the 2000s). Head Carrier (2016) saw the addition of bassist Paz Lenchantin, and the band seemed more settled and established as a four-piece. Still, the new-incarnation Pixies just sound like a really good indie-rock band (and that’s it). The same could be said for 2019’s Beneath the Eyrie, except the band seems to be recapturing some of the old fire, which hopefully will come back roaring back full force on this year’s forthcoming Doggerel, slated for a September release.

Erika’s 3 Favorite Pixies Albums of All Time:

1. Doolittle (1989)
2. Surfer Rosa (1988)
3. Trompe le Monde (1991)

VISIT Pixies’ Official Store

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