About the Album:
The Pixies formed in Boston in 1986. They were “fronted by singer Black Francis and anchored in every sense by bassist-vocalist Kim Deal.” TM Guitarist Joey Santiago and drummer David Lovering rounded out the foursome who released their EP Come on Pilgrim in 1987 and debut album, the “brilliant but abrasive Surfer Rosa,” AMG in 1988.
Noisy Meets Poppy
After “Surfer Rosa, the Pixies’ sound couldn’t get much more extreme” AMG so on Doolittle the band “reins in the noise in favor of pop songcraft and accessibility.” AMG “It’s as though the band finished touring Surfer Rosa and realized that it was taxing work to bludgeon people for an entire evening.” TM The result is “a more assured collection of songs” AD as they “find a comfortable balance between angry distortion and some of the bounciest sunshine music this side of flower power.” CQ
A New Producer
Steve Albini, who later worked on PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me and Nirvana’s In Utero, produced Surfer Rosa and Kim wanted him for the next album but Black Francis balked. Instead, the band went with Gil Norton. His “sonic sheen adds some polish,” AMG providing “a contrast to the band’s abrasive force,” CM which enhanced the band’s “loud/quiet guitar squalls” EW’12 that became “a Pixies trademark.” CM
“It’s an album that grabs your attention in a way that makes you scared to look away. Few albums have ever been so exhilarating.” PM It is “eclectic and ambitious” AMG with “wide-ranging moods and sounds,” AMG showcasing the Pixies’ “full range of achievements and styles.” AD
Influence
Doolittle “became one of those buzzed-about landmark records that traveled far on word of mouth. If you cared about rock noise in 1989, you needed to hear it. That’s still true.” TM The album made the Pixes one of “the handful of bands that every ‘90s indie band worth its salt cites as an essential influence.” PK “It’s easy to see why the album made the Pixies into underground rock stars;” AMG this is “a fun, freaky alternative to most other late-‘80s college rock.” AMG
Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain himself acknowledged the Pixies’ influence on “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” RS It became “the Old Testament of grunge rock” CM and “a rite of passage for anyone who wants to get into alt-rock.” PM
Like Sonic Youth, the Pixies “completely deconstructed the pop format, twisting basic surf guitar chord progressions into wholly original new forms…The results could be brilliant, but also occasionally distancing.” PK Doolittle “Black Francis’ self-described ‘stream of unconsciousness’ rants” RS grew into “tighter songwriting [that] focuses the group’s attack” AMG but still display “enough killer guitar hooks and melodicism to keep it anchored.” PK
The Songs:
Here’s some insight into each of the individual songs on the album.
“Debaser”
Debaser “is the quintessential sound of The Pixies in full-flight, the one song that springs to the mind of many fans if forced to choose just one song to represent the group.” AD This is “playfully diabolical power pop” CQ number supposedly inspired Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” PK
“Inspired by [Luis] Bunuel’s classic surrealist short Un Chien Andalou,” AMG switches “between quiet and loud but…much more dramatically than anything they’d done before.” AD It “is a nonstop barrage of lyrical imagery, tempo changes, and insane riffage, more or less the perfect Pixies track.” PK “Guitarist Joey Santiago has said that this is the best single-song distillation of the Pixies experience” TM and, indeed, “the band plays as though this one song is its only shot at a manifesto.” TM
“Tame”
Tame finds “Black Francis whispering about how the woman that fascinates the song’s protagonist has ‘got hips like Cinderella’ – but once he’s screaming…above razor sharp guitar the title is a misnomer.” CM “it’s a wonder he could even speak after recording it.” AD
“Wave of Mutilation”
Wave of Mutilation is the group’s “surfy ode to driving a car into the sea.” AMG
“I Bleed”
“Wave of Mutilation” and I Bleed “really cook while staying within the confines of traditional rock songs.” PK It “opens with very deep bass notes [before] Joey’s guitar arrives.” AD “The lyrics and vocal performance are both wonderful and inspired.” AD
“Here Comes Your Man”
The single Here Comes Your Man is “irresistible,” AMG “straightforward jangly” PK and “deceptively jolly.” PM “Had The Pixies had enough of a public profile at the time, this could have been a huge hit for them.” AD
“Dead”
Doolittle’s most ferocious moments, like” AMG “the rumbling, primal Dead,” CM “are more stylized than the group’s past outbursts.” AMG This is “a visceral retelling of David and Bathsheba’s affair.” AMG
“Monkey Gone to Heaven”
“The Pixies’ arty, noisy weirdness mix with just enough hooks to produce gleefully demented singles” AMG such as Monkey Gone to Heaven. The “relatively mainstream college pop-rock” PK spins a bizarre tale of “an environmental disaster [that] allows for humanity’s obliteration of a deity.” CM “This is a truly beautiful song.” AD
“Mr. Grieves”
“The strangely theatrical Mr. Grieves” AMG features “a little Kinks’ ‘Dead End Street’ descending bass line, mixed in with a single riff and a half laughing, half stuttering vocal. It becomes another distinctive Pixies song introduction. Happily, the rest of the song is even better with sparkling guitars and another beautiful yet powerful vocal performance.” AD
“Crackity Jones”
Crackity Jones is “a song about a crazy roommate Francis had in Puerto Rico” AMG which is supported by “demented guitars and trashing exactly when the album needed it.” AD It features drummer Dave Lovering singing and while “he does struggle slightly with the vocals…his voice is so deep and crooning, it’s just hilariously funny.” AD
“La La Love You”
There’s also “the sweetly surreal love song La La Love You.” AMG
“No. 13 Baby”
No. 13 Baby “isn’t as startling a song as much else of what’s here, but the strummed guitar and Charles off-in-the-distance vocal through the quieter sections are a joy all the same. It's still a mighty fine song…with some entertaining Joey guitar notable in particular.” AD
“There Goes My Gun”
“There are still plenty of weird, abrasive vignettes” AMG such as “the blankly psychotic There Goes My Gun.” AMG It is “a throwback structurally to Surfer Rosa or Come on Pilgrim.” AD “Kim sounds wonderful here on bass and vocals, and each group member takes a turn to sing a line of the lyric, ‘friend or foe,’ which is fun” AD
“Hey”
“Monkey Gone to Heaven” and Hey “stretch Francis’ lyrical horizons” AMG making for the “Pixies’ versions of message songs and romantic ballads.” AMG The latter “opens with a spine chillingly beautiful vocal. Equally as beautiful restrained guitars come in.” AD
“Silver”
The Pixies “expand their range on the brooding, wannabe spaghetti western theme Silver.” AMG It “features a dual lead vocal from Kim and Frank as well as slide guitar which works astonishing well in giving the song a truly timeless feel.” AD
“Gouge Away”
With its “frantic, relentless energy” PM “the nihilistic finale Gouge Away” AMG “finishes things off with…stupendous vocal screaming.” AD It “sets the biblical narrative of Samson and Delilah to a menancing bassline.” CM It is “a powerful song to close an utterly listenable album that really does have it all.” AD
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