Album Review: Pixies - "Doggerel"

 

It appears that evidently I've lost track of the Pixies a bit in recent years. Upon receiving this album to review, I was convinced that it was their first since their unexpected triumph of a comeback Indie Cindy (if ever there was an award for "terrible album name, great album" then that one would be up there) way back in 2014 but apparently Frank Black and co have put out not one but two albums since then. Oops. Oh well, better late than never.

At least from listening to the opening track here, the discordant angst of Nomatterday, it initially feels like the Pixies haven't missed a step despite the departure of Kim Deal in the interim with Joey Santiago's razorwire guitar and Frank Black's stark vocals mixing well before an unexpected change of pace in the middle sees it suddenly go into tuneful new wave territory (well, as tuneful as the Pixies ever get anyway and they casually chuck in a refrain of "don't piss in the fountain" just to make sure there's no chance of it becoming a radio hit obviously). The sinister acoustics of Vault of Heaven keeps things ticking over nicely before Dregs of the Wine lands what turns out to be the album's real knockout blow, kicking in with a meandering verse and almost completely random nightmare visions from Black before it properly kicks into gear to become a full on tour de force with the guitars, drums and bass clattering in on each other to properly knock you for six before gently winding down into an almost Doors style ending. It recalls some of the best bits of the Wildhearts' awesome 21st Century Love Songs album from last year and that's high praise indeed. After that, Haunted House almost has to be a more restrained number to allow you to get your breath back, a slice of wonky pop that could only be the Pixies.

The creepy Get Simulated and the mournful The Lord Has Come Back Today keep the album rolling but Thunder And Lightning just feels a bit dull as the third quiet acoustic-led song in a row and you start to worry that maybe this one has peaked a bit too early. There's A Moon On does at least crank the energy back up a little bit and definitely harks back to the classic Pixies sound with Black's panicky vocals and a decent melody to carry it as well. Pagan Man and Who's More Sorry Now?, on the other hand, could almost be Teenage Fanclub with their jangly guitars and really isn't what I was expecting at all - they're still decent tunes but it seems a bit bereft of the chaos that was always the Pixies' main selling point. Despite a terrible title, You're Such A Sadducee at least has a bit of the lurking menace and picks up the volume again before the title track at least signs this one off in suitably sinister fashion and is probably the second best song on the album.

Honestly, I was a bit disappointed by Doggerel but I think that's mainly because it gets off to such a strong start only to sort of drop off into a parade of mid-paced quieter numbers for the remaining two thirds of it. If that appeals to you then you might find plenty to enjoy here and it's all perfectly pleasant but as someone who got into this band through classics like Wave of Mutilation, Planet of Sound and oh yes, Debaser, this kind of just feels a bit too nice and polite for the most part unfortunately. Still, definitely give Dregs of the Wine a listen as it's an absolute scorcher (to be honest, without that song my rating for this album would have been at least one point lower) - just a pity there aren't a few more similar numbers on Doggerel to be honest.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑🌑 (7/10)

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