PIXIES | DOOLITTLE
Doolittle is arguably the most influential album of the early alternative generation. If you want to hear the sound of what 90’s Alt/Rock would later become there is no more concentrated effort than the Pixies’ 1989 album Doolittle. This was the original recipe for the loud/soft/loud dynamic that so many rock bands would come to cherish.
While Pixies previous albums were roughed up by the lacklustre production of Steve Albini, Doolittle was poised to lean into a more polished sound at the hands of producer Gil Norton. Norton famously cajoled the band to use more studio tricks, including double tracked vocals, gated reverb, more effects and overdubbed guitar parts. The album still turned out raw and jagged despite Norton’s demands thanks to the band’s restless energy and Black’s likely pushback to find middle ground. The album ended up as their most accessible to date which helped them become a more well-known act in the process and landed them an opening spot on U2’s Zoo TV tour.
The album is spunky, cryptic, and energetic. Lyrics such as “slicing up eyeballs” remain memorable because of their surrealistic obscurity. The music casually explores a mix of musical styles and dashes from fast and aggressive vocals to experimental guitar parts to post-punk baselines to slower more melodic temperaments. Black’s anxiety keeps the album on its toes at all times, and bassist Kim Deal’s background vocals offer just the right dose of prettiness to round out the flavour. David Lovering’s drum sound is notably brittle and the snare plays loud in the mix, forecasting the upcoming obsession early 90’s bands had with loud abrasively pitched snares.
“Wave Of Mutilation” and “Here Comes Your Man” are essential listening, fondly looked upon and praised for their perfection in the indie/alt legacy. Deal’s 8th note picked bass lines lean perfectly the against super-light-gage acoustic strumming and absonant electric guitars. This blend of musical confection is the perfect backdrop for Frank Black’s eccentric vocal stylings to bark through.
The album’s centrepiece of glory is within the melted chocolate heart centre of “Monkey Gone To Heaven.” Also released as a single, the song paved the way for spoken word verses that would later follow from bands like Cake and Nada Surf. The chorus explodes into otherworldly bliss that is nothing short of perfection. Here Deal’s repeating wispy melody on the words “gone to heaven” is punctuated by Black’s vocal harmony as though he’s looking down on her from the skies above. The twist is in trying to decipher who is singing the actual melody and who is singing the harmony. It goes either way here and plays around with the mind, a rare and delicious moment in music.
Modern Rock radio was taking well to the Pixies sound but the album just barely cracked the Billboard top 100 at the time of its release. The album eventually went gold in 1995 as more and more people became familiar with the new “alternative” sound and style sweeping the nation. Doolittle remains on many Best Albums Of All Time lists and is still exciting and captivating to listen to. It remains an integral influence on all music ever since.
Frank Black’s caffeinated vocal stylings are captured by the coffee while the vodka stands in for the bands potency. Chocolate liquor rounds out the sweetness of the harmonies while the whiskey shines through reflecting the music’s spirit and spice.
