Pixies Give EP2 A Hexe And Some Love

For anyone wondering what happened to the series of mini-releases promised by Charles Thompson a.k.a. Black Francis on the heels of EP1, the second installment arrived with the new year. The Pixies released EP2 direct to few thousand fans and wished them a happy New Year on Jan. 3.

The briskly written email includes a few links before quickly closing with "La La Love you." It's simple. It's effective. And it's a much more settled tone than EP1, foreshadowing EP2 as a kinder, quieter, and more contemplative grunge. It's a calm after the 4-track sad and storminess of EP1.

Like the first set, it's another part of something bigger. All four tracks fit in nicely with the preceding four, while approaching the music from a different part of the prism. The sadness and angst is gone, replaced with uplifting witchery.

That isn't the only thing that has been replaced. Kim Shattuck (The Muffs, The Pandoras) is gone, replaced by Paz Lenchatin (A Perfect Circle, Entrance Brand, Zwan). Although she is touring with the band, it's not her bass on EP2. It was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales in October 2012.

EP2 by the Pixies breaks a with Blue Eyed Hexe.

Opening with Blue Eyed Hexe, the Pixies down pedal into a repetitive and seductive old school rocker. One, two. One, two. Joey Santiago attributed the swagger to producer Gil Norton, who gives the track its beguiling undercurrent.


The song is inspired by a tale from the northwestern United Kingdom. To tell it, they use a witch-woman who happens to have blue eyes. Hence, a blue eyed hexe.

Magdalena is more atmospheric, a possible companion to Indie City in terms of the way it flows. The lyrics also tell a story that flow counter to the mood established by David Lovering's Moog pedals.

Greens And Blues is different. Black Francis basically wrote it as a show closer so the band didn't always have to end the show with Gigantic. While the songwriter admits he could never write anything that could replace Gigantic, Greens And Blues was his attempt to write something that musically, emotionally, and psychologically sits in that place.

"As with all my songs, I would prefer people add their own interpretation to it. But, in this case, let’s just say that we had done 'Gigantic' as the closer for many years at our reunion shows and it worked really well," he said. "But I could see that we were going to grow weary of that and I felt like we basically needed a better 'Gigantic.' [It's] really more of a 'good night' song."

The EP2 closes with Snakes, with Black Francis coming up with an idea to use a slide guitar to emulate a snake. It wasn't easy, but the band eventually came up with something they like.

It makes for a near-perfect EP closer as the bookend opposite of Blue Eyed Hexe. Snakes doesn't enchant, but it does mesmerize. It plays like a warning while being sonically hypnotic at the same time. It's arguably the best track of the four, but all are must-have tracks for any Pixies library.

EP2 By The Pixies Settles Into 8.6 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

EP2 doesn't have the same connective prowess of early Pixies material, but there is a progression that moves the band off EP1. It is tracks like Snakes that will remind anyone that the Pixies are masters. Mix either EP into your Pixies play list and they fit right in, with one exception. They all play well as standalone tracks too.

EP2 is exclusively available from the Pixies website. The EP is a digital download, which is included as part of several different bundles. The premium comes with a limited edition 10-inch vinyl. You can also download the EP from iTunes. They band played a spontaneous warm-up show on Jan. 7 in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Pixies' EP1 Sounds Better After All

On the heels of disheartening news that Kim Deal was leaving, the Pixies put out Bagboy with Jeremy Dubs (The Bennies) on vocals in June and then added guitarist and vocalist Kim Shattuck (The Muffs, The Pandoras) for their European tour in July. Two months later, they dropped the four-track EP1 on reviewers who weren't ready.

Some might argue nobody was ready. EP1 was supposed to be the first in a series of mini-releases, but it also bookmarked the reality that Deal was gone and the Pixies were embarking on a bold new sound that was anything except what people thought they would sound like.

Sure, some could make the case that EP1 didn't immediately feel like the Pixies. But then again, with Charles Thompson a.k.a. Black Francis at the helm with partners David Lovering and Joey Santiago, anything is possible. If there is one thing Black Francis has been good at since the beginning, it's making music that is remarkable — as in something worth having a remark about.

EP1 sounds better after the initial push back.

Maybe it's all by design. Listening to Indie Cindy after several weeks of Pixies silence creates a different impression. The irony is just like the video that tells a love story backwards. As if he was talking to fans, Black Francis addresses the gap between the Pixies and people who listen to them.

“It says to the audience, I don’t know if this romance has still got what it needs to happen again,” the ftontman told the Times about the song. “I don’t know if you’ll accept me; I don’t know if I accept you. But we have this memory. Can we do it again?”

In the video, everything seems to go bust in the beginning. But then it soon becomes clear that the beginning is really the end. And, more importantly, it wasn't a waste of time because it was a part of something bigger. This is part of something bigger. EP1 is also part of something bigger.


And knowing this might even put Andro Queen into a different context. With a lighter touch than many Pixies songs, it is an intimate opener and invitation to experience something original as opposed to the proto-grunge that gave them some of their biggest hits.

Of course, some might say that Andro Queen is also something else. It's a goodbye song that serves as a bridge to something more diverse on the horizon. Yes, it's different from the Pixies. But as soon as one surrenders their attachment to the past, it becomes easier to appreciate that this would have been a brilliant tune by anyone else.

Similarly, Another Toe In The Ocean hints a at a tepid first step into the unknown. The song, much like where the band is, slowly floats along into the unknown. It doesn't even matter what comes next. It only matters that a decision has been made to swim out from the safety of a shoreline.

"I have a drink, I start to sink. I put my toes in the ocean. I have a drink, I start to sink. Another toe in the ocean."

Still, there is an ominous note about it all. The Edward Thatch reference promises that the no one expects the journey to be a picnic. Thatch a.k.a. Edward Teach or better known as Blackbeard, was a pretty potent figure in history. There was a time he too put a toe in the ocean as a young privateer.

The EP ends with What Goes Boom, which chugs and slugs along with a little bit of naval gazing. Most people can't make heads or tails of the song beyond recognizing it as the heaviest addition to the Pixies library. It's not the easiest to love as it is stuck somewhere between grungy pop and metal with huge hooks and sweeping transitions, unless you can appreciate the anger behind it.

EP1 By The Pixies Pushes Around At 8.2 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

All in all, this EP will go further than anyone expects as the Pixies continue to tour. And looking back now on the brisk and immediate reviews, most people will eventually conclude that the only problem with the EP was how reviewers approached it. If you compare it against other Pixies releases, it comes up short. But when you add it to their legacy, this EP is a critical component to their evolution.

Sure, this is more subtle than most. But as you wrap your head around the lyrics, it's clear enough that this was only a warmup. EP1 says goodbye and hello. For better or worse. We'll side with Blackbeard.

EP1 by the Pixies is available from Amazon. You can also download it from iTunes. For more news about the Pixies head over to Facebook. If you missed Bagboy, look for it on their website (while it lasts). It wasn't my favorite among their first new material, but it does belong with EP1.

NonStopErotik Is Dirty, But Not In The Way You Think

Black Francis (aka Frank Black, aka Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV) has never been afraid to let his freak flag fly. If you’re already a fan, NonStopErotik, his most recent solo outing, will not disappoint.

Whether he’s working it as the ferocious Pixies front man or as a lovable oddball doing with his own gig, the man knows how to pen lyrics. His voice, from thoughtfully subdued to wildly wailing, is in a class by itself. In NonStopErotik, you'll find it to be melodic, chaotic, and, as its title would suggest, with strong sexual overtones (and undertones).

It's equal parts love and lust, raw and subtle.

The characteristic Black Francis themes of sex, science and religion are interwoven throughout songs such as Lake of Sin, O My Tidy Sum, and When I Go Down On You. But the latter song is not half as vulgar as Francis would lead us to believe. It’s a quirky love song written with somebody special in mind.

There are a few other standouts too. Corrina is a strong rocker. Dead Man’s Curve gives his amazing vocals a workout. For me, it's easily the strongest song of the lot. All of them are original, with exception to a cover of the Flying Burrito Brothers’ Wheels.

Francis does his due diligence and makes the song his own. Gram Parsons would be pleased.

Beyond Francis, co-producer Eric Drew Feldman proves he has a good set of ears and a unique ability to keep the eclectic Francis mostly on track. Feldman — who’s also worked with Captain Beefheart, PJ Harvey, and the Pixies — is a veteran. He worked with Francis (Frank Black) on a few of his solo albums, including the giddy and aptly named Teenager of the Year. This time, he even played on it.

I think Teenager of the Year is Francis’s best solo release; and it was named for an honor Black Francis (as Thompson, of course) actually received back in his Massachusetts school days. But what about NonStopErotik?

Overall, NonStopErotik is a bit of a risk. It's not a risk because of the sexual overtones. It's a risk for the decidedly lo-fi sound. As a Francis fan, it was easy enough to love half the songs on the first listen. The rest had to grow on me the second and third time around.

If you want something a bit more forceful, go back to Bluefinger. It has many Pixies-like moments while remaining true to his unique solo sound.

You can also find Black Francis on MySpace and also on Facebook if you want to know more about the man. Watch for him on tour in the Northwestern United States (August) after a brief stop in Australia. By September, he'll be on an aggressive coast-to-coast schedule before wrapping up in South America and Mexico.

Black Francis - NonStopErotik Teases 8.3 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

On iTunes, NonStopErotik reviews suggest why hard core fans will remember why they dug Black Francis in the first place, and newbies will be converts.

Amazon listeners are a little less forgiving. Some NonStopErotik reviewers drag down the reviews, obviously for the lo-fi sound I warn about.