7/10
Since Pixies reformed to release new music back in 2014, their return has been a mixed bag of emotions. While their comeback record 'Indie Cindy' was met with near universal dismay, the band quickly righted those wrongs with a strong and more on-brand release in the form of 2016's 'Head Carrier'. Now fully back on the wagon of new music, they have returned once again with 'Beneath The Eyrie', a record that sees them return more to their roots than we have heard in recent years, proving that they are far from dead in the water.
While fans of the group will always stay loyal to their original material in the late 80s and early 90s, but comparing 'Beneath The Eyrie' to anything else they have produced this decade and it is easy to hear that this is the closest to sounding like their old selves they have been so far. Mixing their notable post-punk influences with a dark and goth-like atmosphere seems to be the direction of this new collection, and it feels as though Pixies have finally got their teeth back. With Frank Black's untethered persona returning periodically throughout the release, the band have managed to create a return that calls back to their origins as much as it looks to create a future sound for the group.
Unlike their previous two albums, 'Beneath The Eyrie' has its fair share of memorable moments, with single 'Catfish Kate' proving to be the beacon of this new Pixies era. It has been a while to wait but Pixies fans will finally have a new album that feels like the band are back on track, something that we rarely see in these comeback outfits.