Album Review
The Night the Zombies Came
By Pixies
by Joe Vickrey
Photo by Travis Shinn
Alternative legends Pixies provide a refreshing change of pace with the romantic melancholy of their new album, The Night the Zombies Came. For fans willing to hear it as what it is, this is a fantastic new release.
There is an internal war amongst Pixies fans. There are those that believe it’s not truly Pixies without original bassist Kim Deal, and there are those who have loved the band regardless of which bassist the group has had. To the dismay of some, I’m one of the latter. Having listened to the records before learning the history, I found that some of my favorite Pixies albums have been their latest. Now marking a new era, The Night the Zombies Came is the first record featuring their new bassist and backing vocalist Emma Richardson.
Regardless of who’s in the lineup, there’s a few elements that trademark a Pixies album. Acoustic guitar, searing melodic leads, off-kilter lyrics, and haunting melodies have brought Pixies fans back for decades. “Hypnotized” and “Motoroller” will hopefully scratch that classic itch for those in need of it, though the group has made no effort to repeat the past here. The group is better off for that forward-thinking mentality, but I think it’s important to mention for anyone expecting a “Debaser” rehash. Some of the album’s most exciting moments are its biggest departures from expectations.
From the synthesizer led “You’re So Impatient” to the rotary speaker guitar wobble in “Mercy Me,” the new sonic elements fit right in to their classic sound pallet without feeling like an intrusion. Tracks like “The Vegas Suite” even venture into haunted surf territory. I was going to say that this is also probably the only surf-esque song to ever mention Pizza Hut, but then I realized it’s probably not… and that gave me a good laugh.
The Night the Zombies Came is a perfect addition to the band’s catalog from a live standpoint. Most of the group’s songs are about two minutes long, and when I saw them on their last tour, they bust through about fifty different tracks without a setlist. I could see most of these songs fitting in nicely to the live mix sandwiched between the monster hits. They pose a tasteful juxtaposition to an already long list of requests any given fan will have from night to night.
With that in mind, “Ernest Evans” had to be included to show the band hadn’t gone soft. It’s a sharp-edged garage rocker with a swung drum beat that sounds like it shouldn’t work, but it’s one of my favorite pieces of the album.
“Primrose,” the opening track, also deserves a shout for being so elegant. The song is like a porcelain statue in the sense that its beauty lies in its fragility, and I have no clue how they made it.
The biggest sin of many die-hard fans is that they don’t allow an artist to age. While it’s incredibly unfair to the artist, maturation is often seen as a fault rather than progress.
Pixies are no strangers to this criticism, but the newfound mellow romanticism in their sound is a refreshing change of pace for one of alternative music’s longest lasting groups. The Night the Zombies Came is the group’s coziest entry to date and a welcome one for those have ears to hear it for what it is: A fantastic new release from a gracefully aging band that continues to influence generations of musicians.
Make sure to follow Pixies on Instagram.