PIXIES
THE NIGHT THE ZOMBIES CAME
BMG
Even over 20 years into their second act, on The Night The Zombies Came, the Pixies show no signs of being ready for a musical rapture.
The album corkscrews around as expected. There’s awesome predictability in the likes of “You’re So Impatient” and “Johnny Good Man”, which are the type of crowd-pleasers that the Pixies have traditionally been so good at, but their talent for showing off their dark, cold macabre-loving side is still on display through songs like “Jane (The Night The Zombies Came)” and the bizarre “Chicken”, which is so strange it could be picked out as a Black Francis song as far away as from space.
Francis’s pen, therefore, remains as sharp as ever, but Joey Santiago’s guitar and David Lovering’s drums are also as strong as they’ve ever been in the mix. They are well backed by new bassist, Emma Richardson, who gives the album a welcome shot in the arm with her angelic backing vocals.
The unexpected part, though, is the way that they’ve been able to add a smoky, blues bar-esque maturity to some of the album’s quieter moments. It’s this folksiness that The Night The Zombies Came benefits hugely from, especially on the closer “Vegas Suite”.
Overall, The Night The Zombies Came is the sound of a band not resting on their laurels. It’s an excellently rounded-out album, and once again adds another interesting chapter to the Pixies post-reunion body of work. The maturation of their music is impressive, and they’re still finding new things to say.
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