The Pixies: “Debaser” and “U-Mass”

The Pixies, according to the profiles, was an influential indie band that had great impact on the acts that followed them. Formed in 1986, Wikipedia says that The Pixies set the stage for bands such as Nirvana, Radiohead, The Strokes, Bush and Weezer.

The band broke up under what the profile calls “acrimonious circumstances,” in 1993. With a somewhat reformed lineup, the group reunited in 2004. In the meantime, their popularity had grown and they were very successful when they reunited. The band was more successful in the U.K., Europe and Israel than in the states, the profile said.

AllMusic’s Thomas Erlewine has a nice way of conveying the dynamics and feel of a band. Here is the first paragraph of his take on The Pixies:

Combining jagged, roaring guitars and stop-start dynamics with melodic pop hooks, intertwining male-female harmonies, and evocative, cryptic lyrics, the Pixies were one of the most influential American alternative rock bands of the late ’80s. They weren’t accomplished musicians — Black Francis wailed and bashed out chords while Joey Santiago’s lead guitar squealed out spirals of noise. But the bandmembers were inventive, rabid rock fans who turned conventions inside out, melding punk and indie guitar rock, classic pop, surf rock, and stadium-sized riffs with singer/guitarist Black Francis’ bizarre, fragmented lyrics about space, religion, sex, mutilation, and pop culture; while the meaning of his lyrics may have been impenetrable, the music was direct and forceful.

Wikipedia, Stereogum and All Music were used to write this profile. Above is “Abuser” and below is “U-Mass.”