The Pixies are one of the most influential bands possibly ever, so it’s somewhat unsurprising that almost 40 years since their debut, ‘Come On Pilgrim, ’ we are still talking about them today. But this isn’t some nostalgia-based retrospective of ‘top 100 best bands of yester-year..’ because the Pixies have been steadily releasing records since ‘Head Carrier’ in 2016 that retain and expand upon the vitality that made everyone sit up and pay attention in the beginning. Their tumultuous past is well documented, with break ups, break downs, splits and departures peppering the band’s history (you tried being married to 4 people for almost 40 years!) this is current bassist Emma Richardson’s (formerly of Band of Skulls) first full length with the band.
The band’s tenth album, ‘The Night the Zombies Came,’ opens with the laid-back ‘Primrose’, a softer track that seems at odds with the album title. The song features some classic Frank Black lyrics, ‘feel the fire thrown from the hand’, somehow, I don’t think it’s a Street Fighter reference. Joey Santiago pulls out some Dick Dale/Link Wray surf lead lines that help push the song towards its end.
‘You’re So Impatient’ is driven by David Lovering’s insistent drum beat before layers of guitars and Frank Black’s cough join proceedings. The chorus is a wall of guitar, synth-like leads and…yelps, which are oddly hooky. A ripping, fuzzed-out solo punctuates the two-minute run time, as the band don’t waste a second here, and it’s all over before it’s even begun.
The titular track ‘Jane (The Night the Zombies Came)’ adds some drama with a more exquisite approach to the instrumentation and songwriting, the spectre of Phil Spector looms long and large here. It feels cinematic like it might be playing as the two lone survivors survey the world left for them. The chorus leans into some pixies-isms with reverb gang chants that feel familiar but not fan service. There seem to be several Alice in Wonderland eat me/drink me type references throughout the song alongside the obvious ghoulish death.
The drum sound on the record is something that stands out on the album, be it the verb heavy snare of ‘Jane’ or here the deadened 70’s sound, giving us a phat snare (with a capital PH) and THUMPY kick drum. ‘Chicken’ is the longest track on the album at four and a half minutes, it doesn’t rush to where it wants to be. There’s an odd romanticism to a song that talks of decapitation and running in circles, all set against a western-tinged back drop, with Joey Santiago’s guitar wailing throughout.
‘Hypnotised’ is the first track that employs the dual vocals of Frank Black and Emma Richardson, somewhat of a Pixies staple. Their voices sit nicely together, and it adds a nice texture to the track, especially during the call and response sections. Most of the songs on the album sit around the two or 3-minute mark, which makes for very immediate songwriting, but sometimes a little longer runtime to explore the song would be beneficial. ‘Johnny Good Man’ is a good example of this as the extra 30 seconds gives us some spacey oscillations alongside the most rock n’ roll type track on the album.
At the halfway point, ‘Motoroller’ keeps the pace up. The double of the vocals and guitar makes for a fantastic hook, and there are some acoustic guitar flourishes during the chorus that help imbue the track with even more energy. Again, Mr Santiago brings the fire with some cool guitar leads and effects towards the end of the track.
The gothic ‘I Hear You Mary’ is a standout on the album and tonally different compared to anything on the album up to this point. There are 70’s prog nods rubbing shoulders with 80’s goth influences. The haunting backing vocals that rise out of the sonic soup throughout the track sound like they’re provided by Dracula’s bride. It feels as though David Lovering was let off the leash a little on this track; the busier drum parts help add more dynamics and energy to the track.
‘Sweet flesh is on the bone’ is one of my favourite lines from the album.
‘Oyster Beds’ is a two-minute guitar assault which bears some melodic resemblance to a similar track off Pearl Jam ‘Yield’. Some exquisite speaker-shredding Stooges-esque guitar work pulls it away from that and helps make it their own. The tempo drops back down again for track 10, ‘Mercy Me’, a slower, wanting song that blossoms into a beautiful triumphant part post-chorus.
The crashing stabs that open ‘Ernest Evans give way to a punk-rock country fury. If the Blues Brothers hadn’t played ‘Raw Hide’ to sing their way out of a tight spot, they would’ve sung this. All crashing beer bottles against chicken wire. The restrained vocals are a nice counterpart to the manic guitars that drive the track throughout.
The penultimate track ‘Kings of the Prairie’ is the more laid-back cousin of ‘Ernest Evans’, played later in the evening as things get quieter and closer. David Lovering’s drums tease at the beginning of the verse into thinking we’re about to take a 90-degree right turn into another part, a Pixies signature, but instead, we keep on mossying down the prairie.
The final track, ‘The Vegas Suite,’ brings us down to land softly, with a lighter (or phone eyes*) in the air moment. There is a finality to the track as Frank Black intones, ‘But when you’ve done everything, everything is done’. As the song moves and progresses, it morphs into a grandiose wide-open vista, the culmination of a journey travelled and onto another horizon.
‘The Night the Zombies Came’ isn’t going to soundtrack your zombie apocalypse, but it’ll make it a much more enjoyable experience. Joey Santiago’s guitar work on the album is fantastic and always serves to elevate the song, adding a sparkling melody or stomping on the fuzz to help add energy and attitude. The drums on the record sound incredible, thumpy and fat throughout. When Frank Black and Emma Richardson sing together, their voices complement each other, and it makes for some of the album’s most exciting vocal moments. It’s hard not to compare the Pixies with the Pixies; their back catalogue is so laden with massive, classic songs, but the album should be taken on its own merits. ‘The Night the Zombies Came’ nods at nostalgia, all while taking steps forward. There’s the omnipresent surf-rock influence, but there’s a definite Western influence throughout the album (cowboy zombies?). ‘I Hear You Mary’ is the outlier to all this and the standout track on the album. The Pixie’s legacy is undeniable, and they remain an exciting voice amongst the many pretenders of a sound they pioneered.
Review: Michael Smyth
The Night the Zombies Came is released on 25 October via BMG on black vinyl, CD, digital download and on streaming platforms. A crystal clear and red smoke LP will be available at HMV and independent record shops, as well as a limited edition pearlescent vinyl available from Blood Records. A crystal clear and violet smoke LP plus merchandise bundles will be available from the official Pixies store here.
The Night the Zombies Came Tracklisting
1 Primrose
2 You’re So Impatient
3 Jane (The Night the Zombies Came)
4 Chicken
5 Hypnotised
6 Johnny Good Man
7 Motoroller
8 I Hear You Mary
9 Oyster Beds
10 Mercy Me
11 Ernest Evans
12 Kings of the Prairie
13 The Vegas Suite
The Night the Zombies Came Vinyl
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