{"id":338,"date":"2024-10-29T21:13:46","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T19:13:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/?p=338"},"modified":"2024-10-29T21:13:46","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T19:13:46","slug":"dear-phil-mongredien-have-you-really-listened-to-pixies-the-night-the-zombies-came","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/music\/dear-phil-mongredien-have-you-really-listened-to-pixies-the-night-the-zombies-came\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Phil Mongredien: Have You Really Listened to Pixies\u2019 The Night the Zombies Came?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In a recent review for The Guardian<\/em>, Phil Mongredien handed the Pixies’ latest album The Night the Zombies Came<\/em> a rather ungenerous 2-star rating, lamenting it as \u201can echo of an echo\u201d of the band\u2019s past triumphs. You can read it here<\/a>. Now, Phil, dear critic, I get it. You want the Pixies of yesteryear, but this album isn\u2019t some desperate bid for \u201cpast glories\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s an evolution, the sound of seasoned musicians honing their craft. In fact, I wonder if you\u2019ve truly listened to all their work, or just the early Doolittle<\/em> classics? Allow me to help you out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Night the Zombies Came<\/em> marks Pixies\u2019 fifth post-reunion album, and while it doesn\u2019t come with Surfer Rosa<\/em>-level frenzy, it certainly captures the spirit of mature rock. Perhaps it\u2019s time to accept that musicians, just like the rest of us, evolve. According to Cult Following<\/em>, this album is a turning point for the Pixies, embracing acoustic textures alongside Santiago’s signature fuzzy guitar to give us fresh sounds that blend introspection with just the right amount of Pixie weirdness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And let\u2019s talk about Emma Richardson\u2019s addition on bass. Soundsphere<\/em> Magazine notes that her harmonies and driving bass bring a renewed energy that meshes well with Black Francis\u2019s vocals. If anything, The Night the Zombies Came<\/em> builds on, rather than recycles, the Pixies’ sound. Yes, there\u2019s nostalgia in there, but it\u2019s been distilled with a touch of finesse that shows how the Pixies have come to terms with age \u2013 and they do it with humour and style, especially on tracks like \u201cChicken\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even Glide Magazine<\/em> had kind words, observing that \u201cthe cinematic scope\u201d of this album creates a lush landscape for the band\u2019s quirky lyrics and sonic experiments to play out. I\u2019d say that the Pixies\u2019 new material has aged like a fine wine, maybe more Bordeaux<\/em> than Bud Light<\/em>, but hey, some critics might just need a bit of practice with the refined stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, here\u2019s a suggestion, Phil: give the whole discography a spin, from Come On Pilgrim<\/em> to Doggerel<\/em>. You\u2019ll find that The Night the Zombies Came<\/em> isn\u2019t a stale throwback \u2013 it\u2019s a testament to the Pixies\u2019 staying power. And who knows? You might find a little enjoyment in the so-called \u201cechoes\u201d after all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a recent review for The Guardian, Phil Mongredien handed the Pixies’ latest album The Night the Zombies Came a rather ungenerous 2-star rating, lamenting it as \u201can echo of an echo\u201d of the band\u2019s past triumphs. You can read it here. Now, Phil, dear critic, I get it. You want the Pixies of yesteryear, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":340,"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338\/revisions\/340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}