NOTES:
Black Francis: Vocals, Guitar.
Joey Santiago: Guitar.
Mrs. John Murphy (Kim Deal): Vocals, bass.
David Lovering: Drums.

Produced by Steve Albini.
p.c. 1988 4AD.  All Rights Reserved.

If you'll remember, Kurt Cobain said that one of his prime influences were the Pixies; mainly, the soft/hard dynamics of their music.  Listen to Surfer Rosa, the Pixies' first album, and you'll hear exactly what he meant.  In the wake of late-80 alternative rock sludge (like the Cure, Love and Rockets, etc.), the Pixies came up with some of the most refreshing music that had been heard in quite a while.

Surfer Rosa is a rock and roll rollercoaster that refuses to stop, and if I had to describe the Pixies' sound, it would be like a really intense Saturday morning cartoon.   Part of the Pixies'  interesting sound comes from the guitar work from Black Francis and Joey Santiago, like the goofy intro to "Something Against You," and the bizarre leads in "Vamos."  Another element to their music is their power.  There's no denying the ferocity of tracks like "Broken Face," "River Euphrates," and "Oh My Golly!."  But the record also contains slower tracks like "Where is My Mind," with it's eerie cut-off ending, and Kim Deal's amazing "Gigantic," which rivals anything she's done since.

The most important element has to be singer Black Francis, who might just be the oddest songwriter on the planet, even if you can understand the songs sung in Spanish.  He'll sing things like "I was talking to Peachy Peach about Kissy Kiss" ("Bone Machine"), and then turn around to write the erotic "Cactus" ("Prick your hands on a cactus tree/Wipe them on your dress and send it to me").

Surfer Rosa, as you may have anticipated, comes highly recommended; however, try to locate a used CD copy of the original version on Rough Trade records, because it also contains the band's first E.P. Come On Pilgrim.

With your feet in the air, and your head on the ground.