4.
liv e r e vi e w s
originality, and never being bettered by anyone. Robert Cooke
Pixies London, Roundhouse 25/09/013 It may only have been three years since the Pixies’ last visit to these shores, but with a new EP of questionable
quality in tow and, crucially, an old bassist firmly not, it feels like the seminal quartet have an unusual amount to prove. As Black Francis comes out strumming the band’s acoustic, surf take on classic ‘Doolittle’ offering ‘Wave Of Mutilation’, however, it’s apparent that – even without Kim Deal – the Pixies are as assured and confident a
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proposition as a band of their stature should rightly be. And tonight they, thankfully, deliver the kind of greatest hits set that even the odd, ropey new track can’t sully too much. The hits comes fast and early, ‘Where Is My Mind?’’s iconic riff bleeding into notorious albatross (but come on, it’s still bloody great) ‘Here Comes Your Man’. We get the chills
of ‘Velouria’, the relentless crashes of ‘Bone Machine’, an absolutely sublime ‘Hey’ and the bitter caress of ‘Caribou’. And sure, when you hear the intense crackle and the perfectly juxtaposed evil sweetness of these tracks next to newie ‘What Goes Boom’ it’s a little sad. But tonight is still 90% A-grade genius, and that’s better than most. Lisa Wright the-fly.co.uk