Pixies - Bossanova

One of the lesser Pixies albums, but still a must have

This is not the top of the Pixies lineup, but it's still better than 99% of the music out there. Best songs are "The Happening," "Rock Music," "Dig for Fire" and "Velouria." This album has a more pop feel than most Pixies, which I think just shows their versatility as a band. . . one of the reasons they were so good is that they really knew how to change it up, and their different albums evidence that. The best of the Pixies in my humble opinion would be "Surfer Rosa" and then "Come on Pilgrim." Also awesome is "Doolittle," which gets a lot of hype, but for good reason. June 12, 2008

Amazingly underrated - a great album

It seems that "Bossanova" usually doesn't get the best rap among music enthusiasts and most critics. It's really a shame because this album is just as great as their best work - like "Doolittle" or "Surfer Rosa". "Bossanova" has a much more laid-back, surf feel to it, and it's infectious. There are some truly amazing tracks on here and the album flows so effortlessly. If you're already a Pixies fan, there's no doubt about it, just get ahold of this album - it's amazing stuff. April 12, 2008

Has one song which should be on their Best Of...

The glaring omission from the Pixies "Best of" compilation is "The happening" [okay, "River Euphrates" too, from "Surfer Rosa...why the hell is that song NOT on the compilation either?]. "The Happening" is a song, like "Monkey gone to Heaven" on "Doolittle", which gradually revealed it's charms to me. I suppose my main criticism of the song is that the first half is so uninspiring. You get a hint of the beauty and prettiness to come in the song and after a few listens, that is what makes this song one of Pixies' best. The last minute is just gorgeous-delicate and light vocals meld wonderfully with the music. It's lush in sound and poetic in quality. If you can find your way into the beauty of the latter part of this song, you won't mind so much the incongruous first part of this song. Not sure what the song is about...something about aliens?

If you like Pixies' more hardcore stuff, like Surfer Rosa, and, to an extent, parts of Doolittle, I don't think this album with have that much attraction for you. It's more commercial in sound, mellow and laid-back. And, once again, Kim Deal is underutilised in the backing vocal department, though, as usual, her bass playing isn't as buried as her vocals are/can be.

Apart from The Happening, which is one of their best songs, here are some other songs I liked or which reminded me of other songs:

Is she weird? : bassy, nice lead guitar on the 1st string, I think. The BBC version of this song is probably superior [i.e. the collection of Pixies songs recorded at/by the BBC].

Down to the well: should be the second best track on this album BUT the arrangement is just poor. Mind you, I had been spoiled by listening to the BBC compilation before I heard this album, and the BBC version does have a MUCH greater arrangement...with Kim Deal's backing vocals significantly enhanced from the foggy sounding backing going on here as well as the rejigged intro which just works better, I think. In other words, I think the band has achieved the definitive version of this song in the BBC studios.

Hang wire: sort of catchy song.

Blown away: poppy song.

Ana: mellow song, with a nice lead guitar melody and breathy vocals.

Cecilia Ann: I jotted down "Swamp rock" when I was making notes on this album. I don't think I have ever heard the genre of "swamp rock" before [Australian indie band The Scientists are often called this kind of band] but this song sounds what like what I would imagine Swamp Rock to be! It's an instrumental, with a vaguely The Shadows type feel to it, mixed with some Billy Idol type music. It's also a cover version of a track, I think, so, not original Pixies.

Rock music: has a conventional rock sound with some hardcore vocals. Some words reminded me of Michael Jackson...e.g. Francis may be quoting a Jackson line when he says something like "shamon" [sp?].

Velouria: has more normal type singing and Kim does harmonies. Has some weird sci-fi type noises.

I should point out an EPIC song on this cd [by Pixies standards!]-"All over the world", which runs some five and a half minutes. It's not unusual for Pixies song to barely make it past the minute and a half mark. Two minute songs are pretty much par for the course.

Lastly, "Stormy weather" - has repetitive lyrics-something the Pixies do now and again. Not sure if that is due to laziness, or just keeping it simple with good results.

Overall, since this album has "The happening" and that does not appear anywhere else [well, their "B Sides" compilation has a variant on this, which is good, but not as pretty, i.e. "The thing"] this album is buyable. It's just not as hardcore or up to the mark set by their earlier classics like Surfer Rosa and Doolittle. March 5, 2008

My personal favorite Pixies release

It seems like when it comes to the Pixies, the talk is generally "Surfer Rosa this" and "Doolittle that," and while those are certainly good albums I've never figured out why Bossanova got so much less attention than its two predecessors. With the exception of Trompe Le Monde (which I plan on getting around to eventually, I swear) I've heard pretty much the Pixies' whole output, and out of of everything this album keeps me coming back the most often. Bossanova turns down the noise assaults from the Pixies' earlier career down just a bit, but in their place is a more arty, spacey effort that throws some heavy surf-rock influence into the band's already wide-ranging sound. Sure, there may not be anything that completely matches the sheer visceral immediacy of Broken Face or Tame, but for track-by-track excellence and diversity Bossanova is difficult if not impossible to top.

After the blistering, hard-rocking instrumental opener Cecilia Ann sets the tone, Bossanova immediately commences careening all over the musical map in a way the legions of alternative imitators that emerged in the 90's wouldn't even dream of. With Black Francis screaming his head off at full volume, the angry, assaultive Rock Music sounds like Debaser on steroids, but from there the album takes a turn into more diverse and overall compelling territory that sounds little like previous albums. Songs constantly veer off in unpredictable directions, making Bossanova more of an acquired taste than its predecessors, but it's one more than worth acquiring. This album represents the Pixies' peak as musicians (at least to that point); the rawer edges from Surfer Rosa and Doolittle had definitely been toned down, but those albums didn't contain anything quite like the complex, Talking Heads-like rhythms of Dig For Fire or the dense, proto-grunge sheets of guitar noise of Down to the Well. The Pixies' legendary use of dynamics was also honed to perfection here: just check out the way the whiplash guitars kick in at the perfect time in the soaring, etheral Velouria, or the way Black Francis's eery vocals and Kim Deal's crawling bassline give way to the headbanging chorus of Is She Weird.

All Over the World is one of the strangest things the Pixies ever did, a sprawling epic (by Pixies standards, anyway) filled with spacey lyrics and searing lead guitar lines from Joey Santiago that seem to come out of nowhere. And is that a falsetto Black Francis is doing with his voice? Well, yeah, most of the time, but it works perfectly for the song's trippy, drug-like feel. Even when they're plowing ahead at full speed, as on Allison and Hang Wire, the band's more tuneful, surf-rock direction is apparent, but it's even more evident on pleasant, literally pacific tracks like Ana and the closing Havalina.

My enduring favorite from this album, though, would have to be Happening. It doesn't start off all that unusually for a Pixies song, with Black Francis screaming his bizarrely imagistic lyrics on top of some slashing guitars and atomic bass riffs, but over its running time it just gets progressively eerier and more demented, with lots of surfy breaks popping up in the mix, culminating in Black Francis's stream-of-consciousness, half-spoken-half-sung mantra as the song fades out. It's a total classic, just like this album, and essential listening for those who want to hear alternative rock from back when the label meant something. June 26, 2006

She's my fave/ Undressing in the sun...

When judging which Pixies album is the best, you might as well toss a coin, because, after all, we are dealing with varying degrees of near-perfection. Bossanova is magnificent album. Don't listen to people who claim that this album is disappointment (and as for people who claim that The Breeders' Pod is a better album- Puh-lllease!!)

Bossanova is gorgeous. Cecelia Ann is a ripsnorting opener, Velouria is perfect grunge-pop. Is She Weird is dark and kinky, with a great bassline. Ana and Havalina are blissful slices of surf pop, and Dig For Fire and All Over the World tip a nod to Talking Heads. Possibly the highlight is the Happening, with its wonderful spoken-word coda. (Check out the Pixies B-Side compilation, which contains a different version).

Bossanova is the Pixies at their most accessible. Only Rock Music displays the "scary" side to the Pixies- otherwise Mr Francis' love of sixties pop and surf guitar comes to the fore. But so what? Some people complain that Kim Deal doesn't have enough input on this album. Well, she only contributed one song to Surfer Rosa (Gigantic) and no-one complained about her lack of input there. I think the negative perception of Bossanova is just music snobbery- people who don't like their alternative band crossing over to the mainstream, like people who think that REM's IRS albums were better than Automatic For the People (yeah, right).

Just buy this album, play it on a sunny day in summer, kick back and enjoy... December 10, 2005

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