Checking In + ALBUM OF THE WEEK 7 DECEMBER 2025 (I'M NOT DEAD!)

Nyello! It's been a little while since I've been on here. Thanksgiving break was nice, but a little exhausting. I got sick at the beginning of the break, and didn't see improvements 'til more than halfway through. Had to jump right back into work after that, and haven't gotten much of a chance to do nothing until today. I needed that time too, if I'm being honest, because for a little bit there wasn't much music catching my fancy until this past week (other than the stuff I've already talked about, or They Might Be Giants, which I've made a rule of not choosing for my AOTW posts--these are largely for music I've just started getting into, rather than a band I already know I love. THAT BEING SAID. The moment TMBG releases their 24th album, you WILL be hearing about it).

Now, to the important stuff. I skipped two weeks of AOTW posts, which means I owe you all three albums in all. Lucky for us, I FINALLY dove more into Pixies' discography this week, and I have one thing to say: WHERE HAS THIS BAND BEEN MY WHOLE LIFE. Originally I was drawn to them by TMBG's cover of their Bossanova album closer, "Havalina," a track which affected me so greatly that I listened to it on repeat while driving for well over half an hour. I eventually decided to check out the original, and was taken aback by how sweet and dreamy it is. The perfect ending track. Before even this, a friend had sent me Pixies' "Debaser," a song which captivated me enough to think, "This is the BEST SONG OF ALL TIME," but not quite enough to look into their music further.

Thankfully, I've got a friend who has some inexplicable power over me to get me to listen right away to anything he recommends. It says "I can see U liking Surfer Rosa" and the next thing I know I've downloaded it on my phone and I'm head over heels for the whole album. Pixies' debut album, Surfer Rosa, is everything I've been looking for in music. It's a little loud, a little ugly, a little voyeuristic, and insanely catchy. Out of the three albums I'll recommend here, this is the one I know the best so far. "Gigantic" is a standout track, and was the catalyst for my love of Kim Deal's vocals (which also led me to checking out her other band, The Breeders. But that's a story for another week).

The opening track is perfectly balanced. It starts out with the rhythm section, nice, steady, crashing drums and a great bass hook, then it smacks you across the face the moment the guitar kicks in. You get some lovely under-enunciated yelling spoken parts, then it drops off like the edge of a cliff. This song takes you speeding down the highway with the windows down. So much of this album flows seamlessly between noisy chaos this compelling sweeter side that keeps me hooked.