The Pixies underwhelmed in their new release, “The Night The Zombies Came.” The album brings soft rock and tired vocals into a heard-before mix. As a disclaimer, it is not a comparison to their most acclaimed 1989 release “Doolittle,” but a description of a record in which every participant sounds tired and passionless.
The first song “Primrose” starts slow, with acoustic guitars, a steady low beat and relaxing vocals. It is not a bad track, as it sounds like a soft rock ballad, but as an album opener, it is a weak start. It speeds up with a surf rock tremolo solo and occasional drum triples but nothing out of the ordinary. This is followed by “You’re So Impatient,” which starts with a strong drum beat, rummaging chords and a cough. It is a faster song with the signature distortions of the band, yet they managed to make it sound like a generic two-minute rock song from a TV show.
The title single, “Jane (The Night the Zombies Came),” is slower than the last song. The lyrics fit the zombie theme, which is evident as it has echoing vocals and an occasional growl from singer Charles “Black Francis” Thompson. It is reminiscent of a Western film’s soundtrack.
“Chicken” starts with less hope from the listener, yet it is surprisingly a good song. The Pixies once again made an animal-themed song carry the weight of their album. This one is about a beheaded chicken, sung with windy relaxing vocals and flowing with the strings sliding through the guitar with tremolos every once in a while. The song fades away into “Hypnotised,” a clean guitar sound with decent pacing. It gives the listener hope that the album gets better, as The Pixies start to grasp their signature fast-slow-fast sound with whirring and whooshing through the song.
The tune ends lingering into “Johnny Good Man”, which could be a very slight tribute to Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Good.” It has distorted backing guitars with that soft rock feel. Still, the songs start to catch on the pace, adding the alien-like whooshing from previous songs. The song fades into “Motoroller.” Every song gets progressively faster; clean guitars and solid drumming are heard on par with the voice of the new bassist Emma Richardson.
A sudden halt starts the ballad “I Hear You Mary,” with faint and haunting backing vocals that give a phantasmagoric feel overall. Drums progressively play faster as the song gets louder, but the listener cannot shake the idea that the album might have religious undertones. “Oyster Beds” suddenly starts with fast and potent drumming, an exciting song that should have been the lead single of the album. The zombies did not eat the guitar player apparently, as the guitars are amazing and make the listening experience much livelier.
“Mercy Me” contrasts the last song, with slow drums and relaxing distorted guitars. The vocals of Richardson set the tone of the song, the quiet-loud-quiet dynamics are sprinkled in there, yet it is still a soft, sleepy rock song. “Ernest Evans” commences the tune with exactly ten strums before going into a fast riff. The low and slow vocals contrast with the rapid surf rock tremolos of the guitar playing, confusing the listener.
The sudden halt makes way for “Kings of the Prairie” to begin. The acoustic guitar strumming is paired with an electric guitar lead; out-of-tune vocals come by and make the song somewhat forgettable. “The Vegas Suite” ends the thirty-nine-minute album the same way it started: slow. The suspicion of religious undertones is very apparent. It has a beefy guitar riff that goes from loud to quiet to loud again, and suddenly they mention Pizza Hut.
The overall feel of the album seems as if The Pixies were trying to remember how they used to sound and make a slowed-down replication of it. It is not love at first listen. By itself, it is an okay rock album, but it is nothing new and exciting as the band led their audience to expect.
