Cactus. Surfer Rosa was sparse and experimental in a Steve Albini kind of way. So Doolittle was like being fed a giant, seven layer cake when you were expecting a cookie. It was full and enormous and swallowed me up.I had to listen to it a couple of times the first day I bought it. I had to let my expectations born of Surfer Rosa go and enjoy Doolittle for what it was. And I did. From that hooky little bass line that opens Debaser, that relentlessness of Wave of Mutilation, all the way through to the end, Doolittle felt like a 15 song long party, with Frank Black and Kim Deal serving mind altering drinks.
Even though a lot of the subject matter is dark, Doolittle still feels sort of light and airy. Definitely more accessible than Surfer, but that's relatively speaking. While Doolittle is at times catchy and melodic (especially Here Comes Your Man), it's not pop music. It's not even rock and roll. I don't know what it is. It's like a sonic wall of sound that throws so much at you, so many different voices and meanings and emotions and sounds, but all combined it's like an awesome blend of derangement and sensibility that stays in your head forever.
Favorite song: Wave of Mutilation
Pixies at 4ad
1 comment:
All my Pixie tapes died going to and from Desert Storm and I never did pick up the CDs. I've downloaded "Waves of Mutilation: The Best Of" but there are holes in that collection.
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