ABOUT PIXIES: As a blood moon looms over mankind in the wake of the pandemic, Pixies come out to play, gripped by a creative rage. In a virtually peerless 36-year history taking in a first era (1986-1993) that gouged out a raw, dynamic and influential new path for alternative rock over a clutch of seminal albums merging mythological savagery, sci-fi intrigue and collegiate pop charm, and a second since their 2004 reunion that has seen them alchemize more sophisticated dark arts, the iconic alt-rock pioneers rarely been so fired up and wracked with that ancient hunger. “We're trying to do things that are very big and bold and orchestrated,” says frontman Black Francis, “not necessarily without any sophistication or complexity, but it's nuanced.”
Their renewed musical fervour saw a stand-alone single ‘Human Crime’ leap from the shadows in March and has created an eighth album, Doggerel. Produced by regular studio foil Tom Dalgety, it’s a mature yet visceral record of gruesome folk, ballroom pop and brutal rock, haunted by the ghosts of affairs and indulgences, driven wild by cosmic forces and envisioning digital afterlives where no God has provided one. Here are captivating songs of fatalistic hedonism (‘Dregs Of The Wine’) and subsequent collapse (‘Vault Of Heaven’). Of ancient outcasts (‘Pagan Man’) and online meta-futures (‘Get Simulated’). Of romantic spectres (‘Haunted House’), full-moon lusts (‘There’s A Moon On’) and the distant rumbles of war and personal destruction (‘Thunder & Lightning’). Like 2019’s Beneath The Eyrie, Doggerel is a record brilliantly evolved from, but not beholden to, their acclaimed past. And like all things Pixies, it comes steeped in a darkness that illuminates. LEARN MORE ABOUT MODEST MOUSE: The Golden Casket - “I hope there’s still something left for you.” Over the past quarter century, Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock has served as indie rock’s resident backwoods philosopher, pondering his infinitesimal place in the world at large and seeking balance in a universe governed by polar opposites. On Modest Mouse’s earliest records, he was surveying the changes in the world’s physical landscape from the windows of the tour van, lamenting the displacement of natural beauty with big-box blights. The Golden Casket, the band’s seventh-studio album, is exploring the degradation of America’s psychic landscape through the glass of the smartphone screen. Throughout the record, you’ll pick up on all sorts of references to cellular devices, hashtags, computers, texting, and online dating culture. But this is no typical Luddite’s manifesto decrying iPhone addiction, disinformation overload, or how social media is destroying political discourse. The album is, however, very interested in the invisible technology that’s allowed all of that to happen: the cellular signals, radio frequencies, and WiFi waves that are likely beaming through your body as you read this. LEARN MORE ABOUT CAT POWER: Chan Marshall’s latest covers album as Cat Power arrives, as all of her music does, at just the perfect time. Covers is a deeply felt, intimate, and altogether holistic collection of songs intended as a healing salve for the artist and listener alike, showcasing Marshall’s singular chronicling of the ever-evolving great American songbook. Self-produced and featuring renditions of classic songs from artists like Jackson Browne, the Replacements, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Billie Holiday, and the Cat Power catalog itself, Covers is at once a reminder of Marshall’s artistically intuitive power and the latest chapter in a truly illustrious career. LEARN MORE