PIXIES - THE NIGHT THE ZOMBIES CAME

News flash! Beloved 80's/90's rockers Pixies are back with their 9th LP, their fifth studio album since they first returned from the grave in 2004, and their first with brand new bass player Emma Richardson. Like any reanimated corpse, limbs fall off at whim (Kim Deal, Kim Shattuck, Paz Lenchantin), and new ones are stitched on in their place to keep the monster lurching forward.

Arguably the first "concept" album of Pixies lengthy and varied discography, frontman and primary songwriter Charles Thompson has taken painstaking effort to weave the zombie motif through each of the album's thirteen songs. Moreover, the zombie concept has even penetrated the band's musical dynamics -- gone is the loud/quiet/loud dynamic of yesteryear, and in its place is a more atmospheric, moody dynamic seemingly brought on by the introduction of Richardson into the band. Songs start and end in the same gear, and Thompson's vocals never approach the impassioned screams of his early work. A different Pixies from the group that laid Surfer Rosa to tape in 1988 to be sure, but entirely satisfying all the same.

The album opens with "Primrose," a haunting acoustic ditty that musically recalls "Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)". This song perfectly sets the stage for the album that follows -- an album that leans heavily into songwriting and restrained, precise musical arrangements. By the time lead single "You're So Impatient" roars through the speakers with its refrain of "Who's gonna live? Who's gonna die?", the zombie theme is established in earnest. What follows are songs about decapitated chickens, zombie b-movies, and various other literal and figurative zombie references peppered throughout each of the album's thirteen songs.

As with every preceding Pixies album in their canon, specific characters abound throughout this zombie tale -- Jane, Johnny Good Man, Mary, Earnest Evans. Who are these people? Are they still alive? Were they ever alive? None of these questions are answered, but each play a critical role in advancing the album's narrative. By the time album closer "The Vegas Suite" creeps around the corner, Thompson asserts: "He's Coming today. He's coming to save us... I hope he forgave us", Therein lies the redemption on The Night the Zombies Came.

Pixies are by no means a band on life support. They have died, been brought back to life, and have changed forms more times than we can recall. They continue to lurch forward into an unknown future. Death to the Pixies. Long live the Pixies.

-Leks Maltby