Album Review: Pixies - 'Doggerel'
Throughout a 36-year-long journey of ups and downs, unions and separations, goodbyes and hellos, it seems there’s no slowing down America’s alternative outfit Pixies. Since their reunion in 2003, it’s been two decades of new music, new tours and new adventures with no plans on slowing down. Handing out their eighth serving to the public, enter Doggerel.
The latest helping from the Boston band, the record follows from 2019’s Beneath The Eyrie; it’s been an eventful three years to put it gently. Not just for Pixies, but for every musical act around the globe. The worldwide pandemic put many things on a standstill and led to many creative professionals to adapt and change to the new rules and restrictions. However, as many others were shown to learn the new normal, Pixies were still able to get a new record put together and their efforts are finally on display for all to hear.
Obviously through playing together for such a long amount of time, a band learns what works and what doesn’t; what needs to be improved and what needs to be removed for the sake of art. Pixies have had their formula noted and memorised since their rise. It’s the guitar solos that set off the fireworks in one’s imagination; it’s the tempo changes midway through that get the mind and body racing; it’s the power and hypnotic rhythm found in vocalist Black Francis’ voice as he recites his words for the world to take as gospel. All of these exact aspects can be found straightaway from the album’s opening track, ‘Nomatterday’. It all comes together to equal the resulting sound that is timeless. It will live on through the ages, generation to generation. The children of tomorrow will know the soft swaying tunes as they grow. It’s one of those sounds that will never die, never change, never adapt to recent trends. And it will excel thanks to its rhythmic rebellion.
The versatility is subtle but enough to recognise as the record plays on. No two tracks on Doggerel are going to make the same impact, and that will make every single one special in its own merit. The middle tracks, ‘The Lord Has Come Back Today’ and ‘Thunder and Lightning’ show a change in tone since the opening melodies, and it’s a reward to sticking with the band and their track-list travels. These songs stand out for their softer riffs and Francis’ vocals being gracefully lifted and supported by the newly hired Paz Lenchantin. Their voices work together in such a fascinating, fantastic manner that it brings a vibrating electricity. Not enough to harm, but enough to massage. Relaxing. Perfect for two tracks that use natural forces in their lyrics to tell their stories.
Concluding the 12-track epic is the title track, which closes the playthrough on a musical full-circle effect. ‘Doggerel’ again shows there is a change from the beginning, to the middle, and towards the end. With calmer and entrancing percussion, alongside Black Francis hushing his vocals - once again with the help of Lenchantin as his right-hand vocalist - it sets a tone before the strings come in and the riffs take over the song. The guitars can make or break a tune and this one has been made. Birthed and raised.
There are some acts that are considered ‘stuck in their ways’ when it comes to their styles. Refusing to change and refusing to keep up with the times. However, this isn’t always a hindrance and can keep a certain type of music alive and well and seemingly immortal. This is the ethos of Pixies and until the sullied day arrives where they get called stuck in the past and beyond their time, they will keep bringing the good tunes and sweet vibes.
There is no sitting, staying or begging with Doggerel.
Words by Jo Cosgrove
