The Pixies just released the second single off their sixth album Head Carrier, and it continues to bode well for the forthcoming complete package. While this new one lacks the joyful cacophonous absurdity of its predecessor, “Um Chagga Lagga,” “Talent” is equally propulsive, a bit more melodious, and more clearly highlights Black Francis’ acerbic skills as a lyricist.
We’ve now heard five songs from the new album—the two singles, plus live performances of “Baal’s Back,” “Classic Masher,” and “Head Carrier” from Portugal’s NOS Alive festival. That’s slightly less than half, and there’s not a bad apple in the bunch so far. In a recent interview with BBC 6, Black Francis compared Head Carrier to the 1989 classic Doolittle, bragging that “it has a bit of early Pixies slosh in it.”
Head Carrier track list
1. Head Carrier
2. Classic Masher
3. Baal’s Back
4. Might As Well Be Gone
5. Oona
6. Talent
7. Tenement Song
8. Bel Esprit
9. All I Think About Now
10. Um Chagga Lagga
11. Plaster Of Paris
12. All The Saints