Record Store Day Haul #4: Pixies - Indie Cindy 2xLP + 7"

Pixies Music (2014)

The 4th item on my Record Store Day list was the first new Pixies album in nearly 25 years, Indie Cindy.  As most folks do, I sure love the Pixies albums that came out on the late 80's and early 90's.  So, while it was interesting to hear they were putting out a new record, I was extremely reluctant to get even remotely excited about it.  Having high expectations for this sort of thing is a fool's errand and I wasn't going to set myself up for disappointment.  Still, I figured I had to pick it up, it's the Pixies after all.

Well, I'll start off by making it very clear that this album is in no way anywhere close to being as good as anything they released in the old days.  Not even close.  So if you're expecting something as good as Surfer Rosa; frankly you're nuts.  That being said, I've read a LOT of reviews of this album where the writer is just going off on how terrible this is and what an abomination this is and how it tarnishes the band's legacy.  Those people are equally stupid.  This record is totally fine.

Sure, the song "Indie Cindy" is fucking terrible and the track right after it, "Bagboy" is somehow even worse. But aside from those two, it's a pretty solid record.  There are some songs that are nice and catchy, some that are a bit slower and more thoughtful and even a few with some good old fashion Black Francis screaming on them.  In no way can this record hold a candle to the original Pixies records, but it's still a pretty good record overall.  I realize I'm definitely in the minority with this opinion, but I think if more people just listened to the record without pre-judging it, they'd be pleasantly surprised.

The Record Store Day version also came with a one sided 7" containing the exclusive track "Women Of War."  Aside from some asinine vocal effects on the bridge, it's a decent song as well.  Upper mid tempo, nice melodies, not at all a throwaway as some might expect.  But those vocals in the bridge nearly ruin the whole song.  Luckily they're brief.

Pixies - Indie Cindy (Full Album Stream):

https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?visual=true&url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F27999981&show_artwork=true&secret_token=s-T32I2

Pixies - "Women Of War":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9BppDosyl8

Pixies - Come On Pilgrim LP

Pixies - Come On Pilgrim LP, a photo by Tim PopKid on Flickr.

4AD (Reissue)

Honestly, I don't have much to say about this record that I didn't say about Trompe Le Monde yesterday. Even though they don't make a Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab version of Come On Pilgrim, 4AD did a great job with this one as well. Very happy to have an almost complete collection of Pixies full lengths on vinyl now. I always new getting gifts was fun.

Pixies - Trompe Le Monde LP

Pixies - Trompe Le Monde LP, a photo by Tim PopKid on Flickr.

4AD (2010 - Reissue)

Over this past holiday season, for Christmas & my birthday (also known as the most wonderful time of the year), I asked friends and family to pick me up some records that were sorely lacking from my collection. Mostly ones that I had on CD from high school or whatever (yes, yes I split my record buying time in high school and bought just as many CDs as I did LPs), but hadn't gotten around to grabbing on vinyl. I figured they were a safe bet, as I could hold off on buying them (I would never ask for recently released albums, because the wait would be brutal).

Anyway, I definitely needed to add the Pixies records to my collection. Though Trompe Le Monde isn't one of the albums that got the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab treatment, the reissue that 4AD did is also fantastic. 180 gram vinyl, perfect sound, great art. I'm not one of those people that insists EVERY record sounds better on vinyl. I think most do, but some simply sound better on CD. Well I can tell you this, the Pixies are absolutely a vinyl band. If you haven't heard their records from the comfort of your turntable, you are missing out on something special. Many many thanks to my wonderful wife for picking this (& Come On Pilgrim, which I will post a picture of tomorrow) up for me.

I'm not going to post a link to a Pixies song. If you seriously don't know what they sound like, I just can't help you as you should already be at the store buying their records.