Discograffiti: Pixies
Welcome back to Discograffiti! I haven’t done one of these since October. Crazy. Here’s the first one of 2026!
This band is one of all time favorites, definitely a top 5. So I figured it was about time I threw together one of these discography things about them. So let’s get it going!
The Band:
The band was formed in January 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts by Black Francis and Joey Santiago while they were both going to University of Massachusetts in Amherst. After putting it together, they put out an ad for a bass player and shortly after, hired Kim Deal. After that, they found drummer David Lovering through Kim’s husband. The name of the band came from a random search in the dictionary.
The band started playing shows in the Boston area and after doing a show with Throwing Muses, they were approached by producer Gary Smith. They spent 3 days at Smith’s Fort Apache Studio and recorded a 17 track demo which became known as the Purple Tape. That demo got them a deal with UK label 4AD. Eight of the tracks on the demo became the first Pixies release Come on Pilgrim.
The Pixie continued to record and tour until 1993 when their breakup was announced on a BBC interview. A reunion tour was announced in 2004 and the tickets sold out immediately. The first concert of that tour was in April 2004 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The continued to make appearances in subsequent years and launched another tour in 2009 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Doolittle.
Kim Deal left the band in 2013. That year also, the band began recording and releasing new music through EPs. Kim Shattuck of The Muffs had been touring with them as their bassist but never joined. Paz Lenchantin joined as a touring member in 2014 and eventually became a full member. She left the band in 2024 and was replaced by Emma Richardson.
As of this writing the Pixies have released 10 studio albums, 7 compilation albums, 5 EPs, and an abundance of live albums.
I started listening to this band when I heard the song “Wave of Mutilation” from a movie soundtrack (Pump Up the Volume). I’m pretty sure that the first cassette of theirs that I bought was Trompe Le Monde but shortly after, got all of their albums on cassette. Well, all of the albums that they had released at the time. I was pretty happy to hear about their reunion and the fact that they are still together writing and recording albums and touring. As of yet, I have only seen the band live once, unfortunately. I absolutely love this band’s dynamic. I love their catchy melodies and their overall energy.
Okay, on to the discography….
The Discography:
Come On Pilgrim
Technically, this one is considered an EP but I figured I’d include it anyway because it is the band’s debut. It was released in September 1987 by 4AD and produced by Gary Smith. It was recorded at Fort Apache Studios in Boston, Massachusetts.
According to frontman Black Francis, when writing this album he was listening to R.E.M. Murmur a lot and it was a huge influence on the album.
The lineup on this album included Black Francis on vocals and guitar, Joey Santiago on guitar, Kim Deal on bass and vocals, and David Lovering on drums. This lineup would remain the same until their 1993 break up.
It made the UK Indie Chart, peaking at #5.
It was not released in the United States until August 1988 due to 4AD’s failure to secure a distribution deal for it.
It featured 8 tracks. My favorites on it are “Caribou,” “Nimrod’s Son,” and “Levitate Me.”
Surfer Rosa
This was their first full length album. It was released by 4AD in March 1988. It was recorded in Boston at Downtown Recorders and in Somerville at Q Division. It was produced by recording legend Steve Albini. It was distributed in the United States by Rough Trade Records. It was re-released in 1992 by Elektra Records.
The album itself did not chart in the UK or in the United States but the single “Gigantic” reached #93 on the UK Singles Chart.
Despite its chart performance, it has been cited by many critics as one of the best rock albums. For instance, Pitchfork ranked it #7 on its 100 Best Albums of the 1980s in 2022 while Spin ranked it #6 on its Top Albums of the Last 20 Years in 2005. It has also appeared on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 3 times.
It has achieved gold status in the United States, selling over 500,000 copies.
Kurt Cobain cited this album as a huge inspiration to his song writing. Other artists that have cited this album as inspiration to them include Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins, PJ Harvey, and J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.
There are 13 tracks on Surfer Rosa. My favorites are “Bone Machine,” “Break My Body,” “Gigantic,” “River Euphrates,” “Tony’s Theme,” “Brick Is Red,” “Cactus,” and “Where Is My Mind.”
Doolittle
The follow up to Surfer Rosa was released in April 1989 by 4AD. Gil Norton was the producer on this album and it was recorded in Boston at Downtown Recorders.
The recording budget for this album was four times more than the budget of Surfer Rosa.
Doolittle was the first Pixies album to appear on the US Billboard 200, reaching #98. It peaked at #8 on the UK Albums Chart. The album has achieved platinum status in the United States, selling over 1 million copies.
Like its predecessor, it has been included on multiple best of lists. Some of these include NME’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2008, ranking in at #8, Pitchfork’s Top 100 Albums of the 1980s in 2002, coming in at #4. It has also been on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 3 times. It was also included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
While this album was not the first Pixies album that I heard all the way through it does include the first Pixies song that I ever heard. I first heard of the Pixies through the movie Pump Up the Volume (1990 movie) and the song was “Wave of Mutilation.”
Doolittle has 15 tracks on it. My favorites from this one are “Debaser,” “Wave of Mutilation,” “Here Comes Your Man,” “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” “La La Love You,” “Gouge Away,” and “Hey.”
Bossanova
The band’s 3rd full length album was released in August 1990 by 4AD in the UK and by Elektra Records in the United States. Like it’s predecessor it was produced by Gil Norton. It was recorded at several locations. Cherokee Studio in Los Angeles, Aire LA in Glendale, California, Silverlake Studio in Hollywood, Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin, and Master Control in Burbank, California.
The album reached #70 on the Billboard 200 and #3 on the UK Albums Chart.
The UK magazine Select (an indie rock music magazine that ran in the 1990s) selected Bossanova as their album of the year for 1990. Like Doolittle, it was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Strangely, it was considered by many to be a disappointing follow up to Doolittle. Personally, while I think Doolittle is a better album, I disagree with saying it is disappointing.
There are 14 tracks on this album. My favorites are “Allison,” “Dig for Fire,” “Ana,” “Cecilia Ann,” and “Velouria.”
Trompe Le Monde
This one was released in September 1991 by 4AD in the UK and Elektra in the United States. Also produced by Gil Norton, this one was also recorded at several locations: Master Control in Burbank, Pacifique in Burbank, Blackwing in London, and Studio des Dames in Paris.
This was the final album that the band released to feature bassist Kim Deal. The band broke up 2 years after this album was recorded although they got back together many years later.
This was the first full album that I heard of the band. As I stated earlier, I had first heard the song “Wave of Mutilation” a year earlier. I want to say that I heard a song from this album on MTV’s 120 Minutes but I could be wrong. I heard a song from it, I can’t remember which one, and wound up going out and buying the album. This is the album that really turned me into a Pixies fan. After listening to this one, I began to dig into their other material.
This one reached #92 on the US Billboard 200 and #7 on the UK Albums Chart.
Trompe le Monde includes 15 tracks. My favorites are “Planet of Sound,” “Alec Eiffel,” “The Sad Punk,” “Letter to Memphis,” “U-Mass,” and the Jesus and Mary Chain cover of “Head On.”
Indie Cindy
This one was released in April 2014 by PixiesMusic. Gil Norton returned as their producer. It was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales, Sonelab in Easthampton, Massachusetts, and The Autumn Den, also in Easthampton.
This was the first full length album released by the band since their 1993 breakup and the first to not feature Kim Deal on bass. Bass duties on this album were handled by Simon Archer and Paz Lenchantin.
The album includes 3 EPs that were released by the band between 2013 and 2014. Those EPs were titled EP1, EP2, and EP3.
Indie Cindy reached #23 on the US Billboard 200, #8 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart, #6 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart, #3 on the Billboard Alternative Albums chart, #6 on the UK Albums Chart, and #2 on the UK Independent Albums chart.
There are 12 tracks on this album. My favorites are “Blue Eyed Hexe,” “Andro Queen,” and “Jaime Bravo.”
Head Carrier
The bands 6th full length was released in September 2016 via Pixiesmusic and PIAS. It was recorded at RAK Studios in London and produced by Tom Dalgety.
It is the first album to feature new bassist Paz Lenchantin, who was the band’s touring bassist for Indie Cindy but was not an “official” member. She performed lead vocals and co-wrote the song “All I Think About Now.”
The album reached #72 on the US Billboard 200 and #7 on the UK Albums chart.
There are 12 tracks on this album. My favorites are the title track, “All the Saints,” “Baal’s Back,” “All I Think About Now,” “Might As Well Be Gone,” “Oona,” “Talent,” and “Tenement Song.”
Beneath the Eyrie
This one was released by BMG in September 2019. Tom Delgety produced this one as well. It was recorded in New York City at Dreamland Studios. There was a deluxe edition released in February 2020.
There was a podcast called It’s a Pixies Podcast that started in June preceding the release of this album. It ran for 12 episodes and detailed the recording of each song.
The album did not chart in the United States but it did peak at #7 on the UK Albums Chart.
The “standard” release included 12 tracks. The deluxe edition included 21. The deluxe edition consisted of demo tracks. My favorites from it are “On Graveyard Hill,” “Long Rider,” “Caught in a Dream,” “Chapel Hill,” and “St. Nazaire.”
Doggerel
Released in September 2022 by BMG and Infectious Music, Doggerel was produced, like the previous two albums, by Tom Dalgety. The band recorded this one at Guilford Sound in Guilford, Vermont.
This album was the band’s last to feature bassist Paz Lenchantin, who left the band in 2024, after touring for the album.
A making of documentary film was filmed. It was released in June prior to the album’s release.
Doggerel did not chart on the Billboard 200 chart but it did hit #43 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart and #13 on the UK Albums Chart.
There are 12 tracks on this album. My favorites are “Who’s More Sorry Now,” “Vault of Heaven,” “Nomatterday,” and “You’re Such a Sadducee.”
The Night the Zombies Came
As of this writing, this album is the last album released by the band. It was released in October 2024 by BMG. It was recorded at multiple locations such as Guilford Sound, like its predecessor, as well as Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales and Psalm Studio in Wiltshire, UK. It was produced by Tom Dalgety.
The album did not chart in the United States but it did peak at #22 on the UK Albums Chart.
This was the first Pixies album to feature new bassist and backing vocalist Emma Richardson.
The album included 13 tracks. My favorites are “Oyster Beds,” “Kings of the Prairie,” “You’re So Impatient,” “Jane,” “Motoroller,” “I Hear You Mary,” and “Johnny Good Man.”
The Ranking:
And here is my ranking for these 10 albums.
10. Indie Cindy
9. Beneath the Eyrie
8. Doggerel
7. The Night The Zombies Came
6. Bossanova
5. Come On Pilgrim
4. Trompe Le Monde
3. Head Carrier
2. Doolittle
1. Surfer Rosa
Band Links:
So there it is. The first Discograffiti of 2026. I’d love to hear your comments about these things that I write. What do you like? What do you not like?
Okay, 2026, let’s do this!
I prefer the version of "Wave of Mutilation" from the Pump Up the Volume soundtrack to the one on Doolittle.