Doolittle

The Pixies

album cover

Gnashing Guitars, Melodies of Unexpected Loveliness

Thank (or blame) the Pixies for the fitful temperament of alternative rock in the 1990s. The Boston four-piece, fronted by singer Black Francis and anchored in every sense by bassist-vocalist Kim Deal, emerged in 1986. By this, its third release, it had perfected an unusually influential sound: Broken-glass guitars set in spectacular jagged arrays, disarmingly sweet vocal refrains delivered at a full bellow, tunes that take seconds to jolt listeners from nap-time serenity to the pogoing maelstrom of the mosh pit. Kurt Cobain, the leader of Nirvana (see p. 553), loved the Pixies; his band's notions about dynamic contrast can be traced back to the whiplash-inducing "Gouge Away" and other gems on this album.

None of the moods of Doolittle last long; furious outbreaks of squalling noise and gnashing guitars abruptly dissipate, giving way to melodies of unexpected loveliness. In this way, the album is different from the previous Pixies effort, Surfer Rosa, which was produced by noisemeister Steve Albini to be much more of a steady roar. It's as though the band finished touring Surfer Rosa and realized that it was taxing work to bludgeon people for an entire evening. Hence, the next batch of Pixies songs come with quiet, needling interludes between the thunderclaps. The menace is still there—Francis sings the savant lines of the opening track "Debaser" like he's a lunatic who's being pushed to the brink, and the band plays as though this one song is its only shot at a manifesto. (Guitarist Joey Santiago has said that this is the best single-song distillation of the Pixies experience.)

Doolittle wasn't a commercial success immediately. But it 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.

Genre: Rock
Released: 1989, 4AD/Elektra
Key Tracks: "Debaser," "I Bleed," "Wave of Mutilation," "Here Comes Your Man"
Catalog Choice: Surfer Rosa
Next Stop: Nirvana: In Utero

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