IN REVIEW: Pixies - "Head Carrier"

Whereas previous LP Indie Cindy was compiled from three previous EPs, Head Carrier marks Pixies' first full-blown, LP-sized statement since their reformation. It's also overall a friendlier, less noisy collection of songs, with a couple of proper hit contenders if 2016 radio was conducive to bands from the '80s and '90s rather than bands of millennials that sound like they're from the '80s and '90s. To the overly critical, Head Carrier is probably another sullying of the band's Holy Legacy, the go-to whine for those who still can't wrap their heads around the idea of a band's desire to make new music rather than coast on the goodwill of records nearly 30 years old. To me, it's a perfectly serviceable rock record that doesn't even try to stand up to the classics. Like Indie Cindy, it's a record that never stood a chance of being revered like Surfer Rosa or Doolittle, but that doesn't mean it deserves to be dismissed as tripe either.

September 30, 2016 • Pixies/PIAS
Highlights Classic Masher • Might As Well Be Gone • Um Chagga Lagga

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Year in Rock 2025

Alright, I've got some explaining to do. By now anyone who's visited this blog is well aware of how infrequently I've used this space in recent years; aside from the occasional fertile year of content, I really haven't posted all that often over the last five years or so. There are many reasons for this, which have already been outlined in previous apology posts; but, essentially, it boils down to my own laziness and the cold reality that blogs are, like Refused (again), fucking dead. So, I wouldn't hold my breath for a triumphant return to reviews, or even semi-regular posts, but: a) I feel like Year in Rock posts have always belonged here and, even though I've experimented with different methods of presentation recently and been satisfied, the "blink and you missed it" unveiling via Facebook stories this year was perhaps ultimately a disservice to the records I lauded. After all, cramming the list into short videos isn't too far off from ju...

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As far as punk rock goes, it's hard to name a hotter hot streak than the trio of records Rancid cranked out between 1995 and 2000; the star making ...And Out Come the Wolves , the far-reaching Life Won't Wait and their balls-to-the-wall second self-titled album solidly positioned Rancid as leaders of the second generation of punk. It also preceded a period of slow progression, as Rancid would take eleven years to release their next three records. By the time ...Honor Is All We Know came in 2014, many fans (myself included) had to wonder whether or not this was the end of the road. Such concerns are handily dealt with on the closing track of the standard edition of their ninth record, the positively punishing This Is Not the End . Well, okay then, that's sorted. Now, what of this new record? What do we make of the use of their original logo on the cover, a logo that hasn't graced a Rancid record in 25 years? Is this a throwback to the band's heyday, a new begin...

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