Johnquest- #17, 1987 - COME ON PILGRIM by Pixies

COME ON PILGRIM | PIXIES

I’m slightly less sure that everyone knows Pixies, But I have to assume that my readers are at least familiar with them. They’re probably more familiar to you than they are to me- yeah, yeah, I can recite all of Where Is My Mind from memory yadda yadda bla bla WHO FUCKING CAN’T. I've never listened to an album of theirs in fun and I'm really excited for it. I have been lead to believe these guys are alt-rock juggernauts and even if they aren't, I do ADORE what I've heard of them.

I don't have nearly as much to say here. I'm pretty sure I know Pixies’ style and I also know that I like it. They're kind of a part of set dressing for my life and I am ecstatic to investigate. It is time for Pixies. I am listening to them and you are reading about them. I'm so excited. Let us music!!!

OVERALL VERDICT:

HOOOOLY SHIT. I love this. Every song is like its own deal. They're just doing things. And it sounds incredible. Inspiration from everywhere vocals going everywhere holy shit holy shit holy shit. I was pumped going in and oh god I was underestimating this. Every song is wonderful. It's so short and god I wish it were longer. I wish I could live in this album except no I don't because while it Sounds Great it Does Not Seem Like A Good Place To Be. I'm enraptured by these sounds. Entranced by these noises. I feel like I've been emotionally pulverized. It's only 8 songs more and it feels like it. My only complaint is that it's not longer. More, please? More excellent music? Who am I kidding, this is Johnquest. This year ends with Game Theory. There's like a thousand songs on this list. I will always have good music. But still. Wow.

TRACK BY TRACK:

1.Caribou is a gloriously pained alt rock entrypoint. I think in my ideal world every emo band leader would sing like this guy. It's whiny but in more of a pained animal way. I really dig it. It sounds like he's on his deathbed. The emotions, there are so many of them… and who doesn't love a good song about wanting to escape from humanity? Especially when religiously flavoured. Human guilt is a thing. I don't know if non-disordered people feel it but it DOES often feel like the sins of humanity are weighing you down. In my mind this is a universal thing. Even if it's not, this song will probably still resonate with most people on some level. It's great!

2. Vamos has a really solid beat and even if it's more low fidelity at first- one, it sounds great, and two, it picks up. The agony is still there. It's got great screams. Feels talking heads-y? And ouhhhh that guitar. Like rubbing your fingers across one of those ridged images that show you different things. That's an awful description. You know what I mean. I feel like there's some industrial influence here too. Not many genres where a guy screams the same thing over and over again. It's really good. It's really, really good.

3. Isla De Encanta has some more punk flavouring. I don't know what they're saying but it sounds really good and I think it's about an island. The guitar is so angry. Angry and fast. And the vocals while less Incredibly Pained are still Beautiful, even if in a completely different way. I'm enjoying myself thoroughly. Their sounds they are WONDERFUL. all the songs thus far have suggested very different things. The song recs section for this one will be something to behold. Oh well! Luckily for all, I like music. Hopefully there will be something for everyone. Hopefully. There's such variety and I like it all.

4. Ed Is Dead is another beautiful man singing song. The singing, the man's singing is beautiful. I don't know enough about the band to confidently say if he's beautiful or not. I love how the guitars and vocals seem like they'd usually be found in two fully separate things. It's really great. This one's pained too. But in a different way. And good god grief will do that to you. It's so wonderful muggy and listless. Feels like being in a city in the summer. Kind of a musical equivalent of the good parts of how it smelled to take out the trash at my old art studio cleaning job. Nifty.

5.The Holiday Song has guitars that feel like they're from after this album’s release. Really all of these do. It's simultaneously evidently 80s and not 80s at all. Those guitars feel anywhere from 90s-2000s. Those vocals sound very 90s to me. Good god. These people were innovators. I'm captivated. He starts to sound like Isaac Brock at some points here and it makes me wonder if maybe Isaac Brock wanted to sound like him. Much to ponder. AND SO, SO VERY GOOD.

6. Nimrod’s Son is named after something biblical, I'm pretty sure. What I know for ABSOLUTELY SURE is that this guitar is delightfully twangy. I love how slightly countryish it is. I'm enjoying this album. It does so much. It's everything. The only fully 80s shit is the mixing i swear this could've been released yesterday and I'd believe you. Jesus christ such good music. He sounds like Ezra Furman now. Holy hell. God what a song. What a song. Agonized but accepting. Man this is wonderful. Really set the blueprint for angsty singers, probably. Christ. Christ what a song. Sins of the forefather or whatever. Great song. Ouuugh.

7 . I’ve Been Tired features ANOTHER VOCAL STYLE and it also sounds INCREDIBLE. This one's almost… funky? It's wonderful. It does remind me of Lou Reed- in part, during the more spoken bits. It also mentions Lou Reed which I think means it's a success. As a song. I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying this album. There's only one song left? Are you sure? Can there be more? I want more. I really want more. Please give me more music. I like music. I like this a lot.

8. Levitate me is making me question if this album was really released in the 80s. It sounds so contemporary. I'm aglow with thoughts of THIS SONG. The vocals are heavenly though not angelic. There's a wonderful warbling to them. I'm enraptured. I'm enjoying myself too much. I've never heard anything like this album that's THIS SLIGHTLY OLD. It's incredible. I want to live forever. I love this. This song is kind of about suicidal ideation at least a little. It's doing incredible things. I'm a very passively suicidal guy but it makes me want to live. I don't know. Wow. Just wow. Wow wow wow.

If you like this album, you might also like: TEN COOL ONES by MONO MEN, or MYSTERIOUS POWER by EZRA FURMAN

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