After 1988's brilliant but abrasive
Surfer Rosa
,
the Pixies
' sound couldn't get much more extreme. Their
Elektra
debut,
Doolittle
, reins in the noise in favor of pop songcraft and accessibility. Producer
Gil Norton
's sonic sheen adds some polish, but
Black Francis
' tighter songwriting focuses the group's attack.
's most ferocious moments, like
"Dead,"
a visceral retelling of
David
and
Bathsheba
's affair -- are more stylized than the group's past outbursts. Meanwhile, their poppy side surfaces on the irresistible single
"Here Comes Your Man"
and the sweetly surreal love song
"La La Love You."
The Pixies'
arty, noisy weirdness mix with just enough hooks to produce gleefully demented singles like
"Debaser,"
-- inspired by
Bunuel
's classic surrealist short
Un Chien Andalou
-- and
"Wave of Mutilation,"
their surfy ode to driving a car into the sea. Though
's sound is cleaner and smoother than
' earlier albums, there are still plenty of weird, abrasive vignettes: the blankly psychotic
"There Goes My Gun,"
"Crackity Jones,"
a song about a crazy roommate
Francis
had in Puerto Rico, and the nihilistic finale
"Gouge Away."
Meanwhile,
"Tame,"
"I Bleed"
continue
' penchant for cryptic kink. But the album doesn't just refine
' sound; they also expand their range on the brooding, wannabe spaghetti western theme
"Silver"
and the strangely theatrical
"Mr. Grieves."
"Hey"
"Monkey Gone to Heaven,"
on the other hand, stretch
' lyrical horizons:
"Monkey"
's elliptical environmentalism and
's twisted longing are
' versions of message songs and romantic ballads. Their most accessible album,
's wide-ranging moods and sounds make it one of their most eclectic and ambitious. A fun, freaky alternative to most other late-'80s college rock, it's easy to see why the album made
into underground rock stars. ~ Heather Phares