(Track from EP, "EP-1")
After “Trompe le Monde” in 1991, the Pixies disappeared, coming up for air in 2004 to top the debut UK download chart with “Shrek 2” soundtrack contender, “Bam Thwok”, a nonsensical, Wurlitzer organ boasting blast of indie rock orgasm, written by Kim Deal and sliding with considerable smack into view alongside the immensely popular reunion gigs. All was well. And then they disappeared once more. “Andro Queen” seems a bizarre way to open this comeback release, chiefly because it sounds almost totally different from the Pixies sound we know and love. In summer, we got “Bagboy”, whose lyrics were allegedly written on a Starbucks napkin and whose instrumentation was revealed to be lacking Deal, an absence from the line-up that was explained only a few weeks before the grunge-esque refrains of “cover your mouth – cover your teeth!” exploded into existence from the band’s website as a free download. However, where "Bagboy" got the juices flowing in 4 and a half minutes of bang and crash, this particular new gem is a totally beautiful piece of music – the chord progression genuinely reduced me tears, and its acoustic guitar and surf-rock lead are hypnotic from the warbling offset. The vocal, weaving in and out of Spanish during the bridge around 1:45, is perhaps the most identifiable of all the musical counterparts, giving Black Francis an odd, ageless quality that adds to the magic, glittery feel of this opener, the words hanging loosely and with almost the same irrelevance as the songs of old, where the special, alternative rock dynamic dominated similarly. The hazy feel makes “Andro Queen” something of a unique moment in the catalogue, frolicking gently with a grace so serene that it is comparable only with the swaying beach-rock of “Havalina” from 1990’s “Bossanova”. It’s nice in that respect, to have a Pixies track whose delicacy and glow creates warmth and satisfaction, unlike, for instance, “Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf)”, a 1989 B-side that took the band instead to a side that’s ethereal beyond belief. To anyone who found that exciting, the rest of the EP is fantastic – recorded as one of five with long-time producer Gil Norton in Wales this year, “EP-1” promises big things from the band and delivers emphatically and with classic, unchallenged style – yes; the Pixies, undisputed champions of indie-rock, have finally returned…
★★★★★
Versions of “Andro Queen”
EP Version - 3:32