Pixies Announce New Album “The Night The Zombies Came”

Today Pixies have announced that their tenth studio album, The Night The Zombies Came, will be released just in time for Halloween on the 25th October via BMG. 35 years since the groundbreaking Doolittle album, and 20 years since their reformation at Coachella, Pixies are deep into their second act, and in the midst of a creative purple patch. Druidism, apocalyptic shopping malls, mediaeval themed restaurants, 12th century poetic form, surf rock, gargoyles, bog people and the distinctive dry drum sound of 1970s era Fleetwood Mac are just some of the disparate wonders that inform the new songs. Testament to this kaleidoscopic vista is the new song, Chicken, that personifies poultry, dealing with decapitation and feeling like an actor in a Zombie movie as Joey Santiago‘s impulsive lead guitar takes flight.

“Fragments that are related and juxtaposed with other fragments in other songs. And in a collection of songs in a so-called LP, you end up making a kind of movie.” (vocalist & guitarist Black Francis)

Early on in the recording process at Guilford Sound Studio in Vermont, the band noticed the new songs were dividing into two camps: what they came to call the “Dust Bowl Songs”, country tinged, balladesque numbers such as Primrose and Mercy Me, and on the other side, the album’s furious punk numbers such as You’re So Impatient and Oyster Beds. These sit alongside tracks like Only ‘Jane (The Night The Zombies Came) that keeps its feet in both camps, with a style reminiscent of early 60s Phil Spector that hits the sweet spot between mushy and abrasive.

The news of The Night The Zombies Came arrives amidst a packed touring schedule, the band have just wrapped a tour across North America and are playing through Europe before returning to the UK in August for a run of already sold out headline shows in Scotland, Halifax, London, Galway, Belfast and Dublin. Looking ahead, Pixies will head for New Zealand and Australia in November closing what’s set to be a monumental year for one of the world’s most influential, revered and deeply adored bands.