Visceral, musically cinematic, otherworldly but strangely familiar and a bit unsettling, welcome to Pixies‘ brand-new studio album, Beneath the Eyrie, where tales of witches, Daniel Boone, misfits and other characters fit utterly into the band’s inherent weirdness. Boasting 12 new songs, the album will be released globally on Friday, September 13 via the group’s new record label, Infectious/BMG, and available in a wide variety of packages. Those formats include CD, CD Deluxe, Vinyl (Standard) and Vinyl (coloured).
Pixies – Black Francis/vocals, guitars; Joey Santiago/guitars; David Lovering/drums, and Paz Lenchantin/bass – offer you this early taste, the album’s debut single. Co-written by Francis and Lenchantin, “On Graveyard Hill” is an in-your-face, classic Pixies tale of imminent, ominous doom. LISTEN HERE
Said Korda Marshall, UK SVP Music, BMG, “There are not many bands that can justifiably claim to have changed the sound of music. The Pixies are one, and they continue to push the boundaries with their brilliant new album. We are honoured and proud to have signed them to Infectious/BMG and really look forward to working with them in the future.”
Beneath the Eyrie, produced by GRAMMY-nominated Tom Dalgety (Ghost, Royal Blood, Pixies’ Head Carrier), was written over the course of 2018 and recorded last December at Dreamland Recordings near Woodstock, NY. While taking a break outside the studio – originally St. John’s Church built in 1896 – Lovering spotted an eagles nest – or “eyrie” – right above the studio in a tree. Hence the album’s title, Beneath the Eyrie.
For the recording of the album, Pixies opted to shine a bright – and rare – light on the process, to document every moment of what took place in the studio for a 12-episode podcast titled “It’s a Pixies Podcast.” The podcast welcomes fans to witness the evolution of the album’s tracks, from their earliest stages to completion, in the studio’s control room, the main room, and in a special “video booth” where the band members offered their thoughts and observations throughout recording. Produced by Pixies and hosted and narrated by New York Times best-selling author Tony Fletcher, “It’s a Pixies Podcast” debuts June 27 and will be available globally on Apple, Spotify, Acast, Stitcher, Google, and other podcast platforms.
Pixies will support Beneath the Eyrie with an extensive 2019- 2020 world tour that kicks off Saturday, August 31 at the Daydream Festival in Pasadena, CA. This will mark the first time the band has shared a stage with the festival’s curators The Cure in 30 years, the first time being in 1989 at L.A.’s Dodger Stadium. Pixies will then head to the UK and Europe for extensive tour run that begins September 13th. Further worldwide dates to be announced shortly. See official Pixies website for full list of dates.
While Pixies have been acclaimed as the most influential, pioneering band of the late 80s alt/rock movement, having blazed the trail for artists from Nirvana to Radiohead to Pearl Jam, today, a whole new generation of music fans is discovering the band’s iconic “loudquietloud” signature sound. After five genre-defining studio albums — including the now-Platinum-certified Doolittle — Pixies disbanded in 1993, and then launched their reunion tour in April 2004, playing to sell-out crowds across the globe for 15 years, a far longer period of time than they were a band originally. But writing, recording and releasing new music was something that the band had been wanting to do for a long time, so they secretly booked studio time in Wales for the fall of 2012. Six days into the recording, founding bassist Kim Deal decided to leave the band; Black Francis, Joey Santiago and David Lovering made the decision to carry on, finishing and releasing the band’s first studio album in more than two decades, 2014’s Indie Cindy. Also wanting to play live, the three began working with a number of touring bassists, including former A Perfect Circle bassist, Paz Lenchantin who came out on the road with the band in 2014. The band welcomed her as Pixies’ permanent bassist in 2016.
Also in 2016, Pixies released its second post-reunion studio album, Head Carrier which was also Lenchantin’s recording debut with the band. As the UK’s DIY put it, “They’re back. They’re still brilliant. God save the Pixies.”
December 2018 saw the band holed up at Dreamland Studios near Woodstock, NY with producer Tom Dalgety where they recorded their second album as a unit, “Beneath the Eyrie” out on September 13, 2019.
(Pre-orders for these items can be placed starting today at pixiesmusic.com)
