Pitchfork

James Gregory & Ryan Schreiber report:
Reports are beginning to circulate that the recently reunited Pixies may be planning to record a new full-length in the near future, with a release possibly coming as soon as 2005. It would be the first studio album by the band since their 1991 swan-song, Trompe le Monde. In an article published by The New York Times on Sunday, the band's longtime agent, Marc Geiger of the William Morris Agency, said he hopes the band will begin work on the record early next year. When asked for comment, Pixies commander-in-chief Frank Black confirmed, "I have thought of that concept, yes. I wouldn't mind asking Tom Waits to produce us. Why not? I like the way his records sound."

Black talked at length with the Times about the reunion and the band's approach to making music: "I got exposed to some Surrealist films of the 1920's and 30's and 40's or whatever in college, read a couple of articles, attended a couple of lectures. And I applied all of that in a really fumbly kind of way to having a rock band. It was going to be quirky but in a really simple, brief, swift fashion. It was like, 'Oh yeah, I'm going to add something or I'm going to take something away so that it's a little bit lopsided or whatever.' Because when it's just a foursquare thing, it at least stands a 50-50 chance of being boring, cliché-ridden, heard-it-before. When you lop off one corner of it, well, I don't know if it's boring or not. But it's definitely something that you've not heard before."

He went on to state a dissatisfaction with much of today's current music: "Now people pursue rock music, and they go, 'I have something important to say, and here's what it is, and ooh, I'm singing it from my heart, too.' And it's all too serious. And people totally miss out. They totally miss the fun, Jabberwocky, fun-with-language, fun-with-poetry." Which is all very interesting coming from a man whose past few solo albums have consisted largely of straightforward, traditional roots-rock. Still, it does lend reassurance that an upcoming Pixies album will remain true to their original style.

No firm recording schedule, release date or possible tracklist have yet been confirmed-- which isn't all that surprising, considering that the band still has their hands full with an incredibly busy year of touring. Since closing out their first U.S. tour at Coachella back on May 1st, the band has been carousing in Europe on an itinerary that saw them through the first half of July. And though they've been resting up since Glasgow's T in the Park Festival on July 11th (save one July 30th appearance at Japan's Fujirock Festival), they're now gearing up to get back into it once again.

Their next show will be an intimate performance at the London forum on August 20th, which will serve as a warm-up for their appearance at Staffordshire's V Festival. (Sorry, Brits, the show sold out in 10 minutes.) Then, it's another two weeks off, before the Pixies make a triumphant return to North America on September 4th, with a show at Bend, Oregon's Les Schwab Amphitheater. In all, 48 dates are planned for the upcoming fall/winter jaunt, with lucky Chicago scoring no less than four shows in November. The tour will wind down as the calendar ticks over to December, and come to an official close with a two-night stint at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom on December 12th and 13th. What happens after that is anyone's guess. Dates:

09-04 Bend, OR - Les Schwab Amphitheater
09-06 Seattle, WA - Seattle Center (Bumbershoot Festival)
09-07 Vancouver, BC - Plaza Of Nations
09-18 Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
09-20 Mesa, AZ - Mesa Amphitheater
09-21 La Jolla, CA - RIMAC Arena
09-22 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
09-23 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
09-24 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
09-25 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
09-26 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
09-28 Las Vegas, NV - Aladdin Hotel & Casino
09-30 Denver, CO - Magness Arena
10-01 Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theatre
10-02 Lincoln, NE - Pershing Auditorium
10-05 Columbia, MO - Hearnes Center
10-06 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
10-08 Tampa, FL - USF Sun Dome
10-09 Boca Raton, FL - Mizner Park Amphitheater
10-10 Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
10-12 Birmingham, AL - Boutwell Auditorium
10-13 Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
10-14 Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
10-16 New Orleans, LA - New Orleans City Park (Voodoo Music Experience)
10-17 Houston, TX - Reliant Arena @ Reliant Park
10-19 Grand Prairie, TX - Nokia Live
10-22 Mexico City, MEX - Sports Palace
11-09 Milwaukee, WI - Milwaukee Theatre
11-10 Saint Paul, MN - Roy Wilkins Auditorium
11-11 Saint Paul, MN - Roy Wilkins Auditorium
11-13 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
11-14 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
11-15 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
11-16 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
11-18 Detroit, MI - State Theatre
11-20 Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre
11-21 Akron, OH - Rhodes Arena
11-24 Toronto, ON - Arrow Hall
11-25 Mississauga, ON - Arrow Hall
11-26 Montreal, QC - CESPSUM @ University Of Montreal
11-27 Montreal, QC - CESPSUM @ University Of Montreal
11-28 Hull, QC - Robert Guertin Arena
12-01 Amherst, MA - Mullins Center
12-02 Pittsburgh, PA - A.J. Palumbo Center
12-04 Camden, NJ - Tweeter Center At The Waterfront
12-05 Camden, NJ - Tweeter Center At The Waterfront
12-12 New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom
12-13 New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom

Also, as previously reported, the Pixies' first new song in over 13 years was released in June on Apple's iTunes. The Kim Deal composition "Bam Thwok" reflects the band's more playful side, but still maintains the patented Joey Santiago guitar crunch that launched an army of imitators.

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