Albums I should have listened to by now: Surfer Rosa

Note to self: there's no "The" in Pixies

No ‘The MOnday’ this week due to Easter holidays; but here’s the second part of my new (irregular) AISHLTBN series in which I try to fill in a few of the surprising gaps in my musical listening history.

Pixies’ debut album was ‘Surfer Rosa’ from 1988. According to Louder mag, it was recorded in just 10 days for $10,000… Quite apart from that, it’s often described as revolutionary, and it’s certainly a record which has been responsible for shaping alternative music in many ways — that much I know. But I’ve never properly heard it as album for myself.

What a deliciously obscure track is 'Bone Machine' — and a bold way to open an album. Those thundering drums sound fantastic, augmented with a raw bass, a waily guitar riff and some indecipherable murmurings before the proper vocals begin. It's in no way a typical rock song with its odd time signature and structurally languid approach in general. I can see why this was novel and progressive stuff in 1988. It's fun — not my favourite Pixies track, but captivating. I'm not going to try to understand the lyrics though. (There’s some odd stuff going on in parts of this album.)

The "bones" theme carries on in 'Break My Body' which also follows a similar pacing and feel while allowing a bit more space, with stretched-out vocals from Black Francis and perhaps more prominent harmonies from Kim Deal.

'Something Against You' is notably more rocky: much crunchier in the guitars, lots more screaming, a double-time rhythm from those still-fabulous drums and a richer more developed layering of guitars. Then, 'Broken Face' feels like the partner song (in the same way as 'Break My Body' does for 'Bone Machine') which makes a cool way to really create an environment within the album.

What's this though? 'Gigantic' is a song l've heard several times before, but I hadn't noticed the hushed opening as Kim sings alone, and also the slightly unsettling, faint, human-voice sounds, way in the background. Here's the kicker, though, as the chorus arrives: "Gigantic, gigantic, gigantic / A big, big love..." — it's superbly supported by a really classic-sounding chord progression, thickly fuzzy and raw, but structurally very neat. Then what l've always thought of as a piano (but now I'm not so sure) builds in; a repeated single note leading the song right to the end. What a great song this is, with the male/female vocal swaps and those quite surprisingly heavy guitars. This was several years before Nirvana of course... I've now read into Pixies more, including the extent to which they inspired Kurt Cobain and early Nirvana, and the connection with producer Steve Albini, who went on to work on 'In Utero'. Now it all makes more sense.

‘River Euphrates’ features another chunky beat and a satisfying set of grindy, pushy guitar riffs. The record is feeling relentless by this point, absolutely attention-holding; wordless bits transitioning into a yelly section; all a bit chaotic and cacophonous, but compellingly so… And then a screamy ending. I’d expect nothing less here.

‘Where Is My Mind?’ is another familiar one, but on the album it’s preluded with a beautiful moment of genius: the spoken “Stop”, then whiny guitar and ethereal howl. I love the pacing of this song — it would have been so easy to make it much faster, but the track would have suffered for it.

‘Cactus’ is chugging chords, weird lyrics, all a bit surreal, stakes raised further with all the additional elements sprinkled in right up to the awkward ending.

‘Tony’s Theme’… first time for me. “This is a song about a superhero named Tony. It’s called Tony’s Theme,” introduces Kim — and then something angular, jumpy, awkward and sometimes a bit uncomfortable. More of what I expected to hear in this record (I’ve been surprised by the accessibility of most of it so far, although I’m not quite sure why.)

After studio chatter it’s ‘Oh my golly!’ (what a title) which doesn’t stand out in particular in the album context; then ‘Vamos’, a Spanish-language, slightly crazy, double-time song. A musical romp which feels like a jam session; and dissolving into clamour. I can imagine this taking place in a sweaty dive venue, very much of the time. It all comes to a sudden end with a drum which sounds more like something breaking.

There’s more! ‘I’m Amazed’ with a slightly worrying intro speech. Otherwise the feel of this song is similar to the previous one (that paired pattern again), but perhaps with more and rawer emotion. And finally ‘Brick Is Red’: short, rushed, not distinctive on its own but a component part of a very well-crafted album with a distinct sound and message.

I’m left breathless. 13 songs, and I realise it was only 33 minutes in total. Yes I agree that ‘Surfer Rosa’ is a seminal album. To be honest, some of the later Pixies material I’ve heard didn’t appeal to me, which is maybe why I never put the effort into hearing this album. I was perhaps a bit worried about hating it, given it’s often described as “groundbreaking” … that would feel a bit awkward. But I found it very listenable: challenging in some ways, obscure in others, but also fun.

What should I listen to next?