Pixies - The Night The Zombies Came (Album Review)
Wednesday, 30 October 2024
Written by Tom Morgan
Photo: Travis Shinn
It feels like every new Pixies album gets praised by some as a reinvention and criticised by others for being too familiar. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Today, as they always have done, the band revel in taking small left turns, while retaining their signature quirky pop songwriting chops.
Rather than judging their post-reunion albums through the lens of reinvention, it’s better to look at both how many small, unique ideas Black Francis and co. still have left in the tank, along with how much energy and verve they possess to realise them.
According to these metrics, ‘The Night the Zombies Came’ is broadly a success, with a couple of caveats.
The band’s 10th album, the fifth of their second coming, does everything you’d expect from the alt-rock veterans, retaining their mix of male/female vocal interplay (Hypnotised), absurd lyrics (Chicken) and oddly affecting ballads (The Vegas Suite), but it does falter when they try to pick up the pace.
Those ballads, all in the vein of Where Is My Mind?, are the best tracks on the album. The Vegas Suite features great lyrics that are all the more striking for their down to earth nature. Mercy Me is similarly poignant, full of evocative, country-fried sentiments involving a narrator who’s “lost my dog down Tennessee.”
On the other side of the coin, the three-chord stomp of Ernest Evans is uninspired and bland, while Johnny Good Man is a surfy ‘50s guitar pastiche as weak as its punny title. You’re So Impatient is the best of the uptempo bunch, but even that lacks bite.
While it’s true that no Pixies album is ever going to be free of oddball charm, we are now in the realm of gently diminishing returns. Nonetheless, there are some strong tracks on ‘The Night the Zombies Came’, particularly the ones that play to an ageing band’s energy levels.
Pixies Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue May 13 2025 - ABERDEEN P&J Live
Wed May 14 2025 - EDINBURGH O2 Academy Edinburgh
Fri May 16 2025 - LONDON O2 Academy Brixton
Sat May 17 2025 - LONDON O2 Academy Brixton
Mon May 19 2025 - LEEDS O2 Academy Leeds
Tue May 20 2025 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy Birmingham
Wed May 21 2025 - CARDIFF Utilita Arena
Fri May 23 2025 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE O2 City Hall
Sat May 24 2025 - MANCHESTER O2 Apollo
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