Following
the release of its “Bagboy” single last week, the Pixies announced this morning
that founding members Black Francis, David Lovering, and Joey Santiago will
embark on a European tour with a new Kim. The Muffs founder Kim Shattuck (pictured)
will serve as the group’s bassist since Kim Deal has opted out of another
reunion. Deal is now focusing on the Breeders, who headline the Hopscotch
Festival in Raleigh in September.
I’ve
always been a fan of Deal, especially the vocal interplay between her soft coo
and Black Francis’ dynamic vocal style. When I was a teenager I was friends with Deal’s cousin. His association with her made the group at once mystical and attainable to our group. I imagined her rolling up to his house on the hill on Thanksgiving morning and hanging out with us. That
never happened, although some friends enjoyed an awkward backstage exchange
with her almost 20 years later when the Breeders played nearby Pittsburgh.
I’m
glad Deal was a part of the 2004 reunion that beckoned my husband and I to make
our first cross country trip to the Coachella Festival and I’m glad we got to
see her at Ovens Auditorium for the incredible “Doolittle” anniversary show.
But I’m also happy to see the band continue as she
celebrates the 20th anniversary of “Last Splash” with her other band.
If the Pixies - a band who I think deserve a Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame induction next year - still have good music
in them, then fans deserve to hear it. “Bagboy” is one of those quirky
Pixies’ songs, but it also puts a modern spin on the band's old sound production-wise. You can hear it here.
When I interviewed Lovering before the Pixies’ Doolittle show he seemed
excited about the prospect of continuing on, but said that the group would only do
it if they could deliver the goods. “Bagboy” features the same
Deal/Francis-like vocal interplay that fans expect, although Deal does not
appear on the track. Francis reports it's actually Jeremy Dubs of the band
Bunnies on backing vocals.
Francis
also reports that the upcoming global tour will not only premier new Pixies’
material, but songs that the group rarely or never play in concert. That’s the
part I’m most excited about. To me the Pixies weren’t a singles band. They were
an album band whose records gelled from start to finish. So hearing songs like “Tony’s
Theme,” “Brick is Red,” or “The Sad Punk” (which Francis name checks in the press
release) seems like a big bonus. Can I add “Subbacultcha” (which it played in
Raleigh in 2005), “Letter to Memphis” or anything from “Bossanova” and “Trompe
Le Monde” to the ample list of requests?
Francis reports that the group has rehearsed 80 songs with Shattuck
- who seems like a good choice from what I remember. I saw the Muffs in
Columbia in the late `90s and was impressed with her as a front-person. It’ll be interesting to see what she brings to
the latest version of the Pixies.
US
dates have not been announced, but the Pixies have been good to the Carolinas
of late with shows in Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh since 2005 not to
mention Black Francis’ recent solo performance at Visulite in May. Let’s hope
we make it on the itinerary this time.
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