Credit where it is undoubtedly due, Pixies’ bright-burning star paved the way for the alternative rock style. Not just for the United States and Nirvana, but their reception in the UK and Europe, where they were treated as the future, as Gods of Sound, is a sign of the seismic shift. An attitude change would fall on listeners and make Pixies a part of the cool crowd. Having to live up, still, to counterculture meanings, is tricky when it begins slipping into the mainstream. This is the concern heard on Bossanova, which follows on with the already fractious relationship of the band in full view now. Stormy Weather, indeed. What made the first two albums such monumental pieces is lost here somewhat. Pixies find themselves not in the driver’s seat but being hauled into the back with the rest, those who chase the new steps of alternative rock. A spaghetti western-like opener in the form of Cecilia Ann, while eventful, is a sign of that change.
Pixies are desperate to change the fundamentals of their style on Bossanova. It means their loud and quiet blend, the finer-tuned moments where louder instrumentals are the lead, are gone. Bossanova is the messy noise which the band had managed to keep away from on their first two releases. A shame to hear it come to this, but it feels inevitable in a way. Rock Music is the generic second track, a knock at the genre and what it had become by embodying the lazy spirit of the times. But the trouble with embodying the times to mock it, as artists of today have found in using generative AI to criticise the very product, is that you still embody it. Pixies begin to drown in those harsher tones and even when they seem to find their way out, as they do on Velouria, they slip back soon afterwards. Frankly, the band had lost their edge by this point.
Angst overrides the driving force of those alternate spirits. Bossanova features songs like Is She Weird depends on the repetition of weird and white than any particulars. There are standouts, but fewer than expected. All Over the World has the balance of roaring guitars and softer vocal work from Francis Black as its loud and quiet return, but the sluggish tone of the song, the slower tempo and expected break with Joey Santiago on guitar, feels predictable. Bossanova hears the band fail to evolve but also wish to break from their expected sound. A rough spot to be in, and Pixies are caught out in the middle here. Bossanova is a change of pace for Francis’ writing, too. Few demoes made out on the road or in the comfort of usual surroundings. Instead, these are studio-penned pieces, and you can hear the change. Less grunge-influencing sound, a little less of the biblical reference points or the tortured souls.
What does he offer instead, then? Little. Commentaries on the weird and wild sides of life. Last-minute changes and some songs pieced together just a few moments before they are laid down. It may offer a frenetic energy to the recording experience, but it does not translate to Bossanova, an album filled with the occasional hit, but ultimately a series of tame-sounding songs. The groans and instrumental moans are there, best of all on The Happening, a song which features very little occurrence of old Pixies. But the new Pixies presented on Bossanova is not much of a mixture. Hindsight weighs heavy on Bossanova. Where the preceding two albums offer a timeless momentum, the band’s third album is struggling with this influence or that part of the rock and roll lifestyle. It shaves the edge off songs close to momentous quality. Bossanova is still dealing with that shortcoming.
