Buzz bands are a dime a dozen these days. Sometimes, as a music listener, it’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. When the blogs get a-titter about a new group, how does one know if said group is in it for the long haul? What separates the Arcade Fires of the world from the [INSERT YOUR FAVORITE WHIPPING BOY BUZZ BAND FROM PAST YEARS BUT REMEMBER THAT ONE PERSON’S CULTURAL FOOTNOTE WAS ANOTHER’S MULTIPLE-YEAR CREATIVE COMMITMENT]? Then again, maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe music is simply an infinite number of niches, capable of fulfilling each individual’s hyper-specific needs. What everyone in music can agree on, though, is that this new Pixies band is really something else. Where were you when they released EP1? I don’t know where I was, but I know what I was doing: getting my life changed.
Not all the buzz has been positive, however. The frightening buzz of worry hangs over Pixies, what with the departure of short-lived original bassist Kim Deal and the firing of second bassist Kim Shattuck. But remember, friends, Black Flag had 28 singers before the iconic Hank Rollins era. So, it does my fragile heart good to know that the Pixies are powering on with a new release: EP2, surely a reference to their iconic EP1. This new four-song release is out now and, befitting a band that believes in the power of the consumer, available here in formats ranging from a $4 audio download to a $60 vinyl/MP3/hoodie combo.
“Cool Pixies hoodie.”
—everybody who sees you in your new Pixies hoodie
Proving that Pixies are also masters of the art of having a music video, one exists for EP2 opener “Blue Eyed Hexe.” In an interview I had with Pixies singer Frank Black (real name: Black Francis) over twin cups of English Breakfast tea, he told me that he thinks “people will love this song the way they love ‘Where Is My Mind’.” To which I asked, what is “Where Is My Mind”? Frank’s response: “Oh right, I forgot I destroyed the fabric of the past with my chronosword.” Then he disappeared in a flash of brilliant light.
EP2 tracklist:
01. Blue Eyed Hexe
02. Magdalena
03. Greens and Blues
04. Snakes
• Pixies: http://www.pixiesmusic.com
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