Pixies

alternative rock · indie rock · punk rock

Pixies are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1986 by Black Francis on vocals and rhythm guitar, Joey Santiago on lead guitar, Kim Deal on bass and vocals and David Lovering on drums. They signed to the British independent label 4AD and issued the mini-album Come On Pilgrim in 1987, followed by Surfer Rosa in 1988 and Doolittle in 1989, the latter two picking up American distribution through Elektra. Those records built a template of abrupt loud-quiet dynamics, surf and Spanish-inflected guitar figures, and pop melody carried under punk aggression and oblique, often violent lyrics, and they proved widely influential on the alternative rock that broke through in the early 1990s. Bossanova arrived in 1990 and Trompe le Monde in 1991 before the band split in 1993. Pixies reunited in 2004 for a tour that grossed more than fourteen million dollars in ticket sales and have worked steadily since. The bass chair has turned over several times: Kim Deal left after sessions began in 2012, Kim Shattuck held the role briefly in 2013, and Paz Lenchantin played with the band from 2014, becoming a full member in 2016 and recording three albums before departing in March 2024. Emma Richardson, formerly of Band of Skulls, has been the bassist since 2024, joining Black Francis, Santiago and Lovering in the current lineup. The reunion-era catalog comprises Indie Cindy in 2014, Head Carrier in 2016, Beneath the Eyrie in 2019, Doggerel in 2022 and the ninth studio album, The Night the Zombies Came, released on BMG in October 2024. Live sets continue to draw heavily on the late-1980s material alongside the newer records.

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