Yes, this review is going to be extremely unpopular with indie rock listening douchebags (and losers in general), but those people might as well kill themselves if they care so much. Alright, don't take the second choice, but seriously, go _______ yourself. While The Pixies deserve to be respected no matter what, I still find their debut still pretty lukewarm. Surfer Rosa is a listenable album for the most part, but for every inspired track of madness and fearlessness, you have to suffer through akward dumbed down Sonic Youth tunes with tuneless pop elements (what the hell are people talking about with a tasty latin influence? They sing in spanish and do a cute little latin rhythm on Vamos, that's it).

That's a big problem with this album. They don't use enough abrasivness to be powerful, and don't use enough melody in their abrasivness to be memorable. The backup instruments occasionaly dont' necessarily contribute anything, as David Loverings's drumming can be very dull. While Doolittle was not as abrasive as Surfer Rosa, it contained a good feeling of well developed songs instead of merely just..well, "songs". There's nothing wrong with simple songs, but there songs aren't memorable, especially with Frank Black's occasional safe and boring vocal styles (sometimes he's loony yes, but sometimes he might as well shock me by jumping out a closet).

The Steve Albini production is a rose-has-it's-thorn and a thorn-has-it's rose at the same time. Yes, there is nothing wrong with lo-fi production, but the production on here bites. Steve Albini can be an excellent producer (listen to the last two Mclusky albums for proof), but some of the tendency to mix melodic tendencies lower in the mix (it seems) is annoying, as the melodies on it don't exactly pop out correctly. THe production works out in favor on some of these songs, but some of they don't either. Furthermore, his tendency to mix vocals so they sound like Frank Black's screeching outside the door of the recording studio. You might as well record it live, idiot Steve. I don't really want that when your trying to do a cheerleader chorus on Tony's Theme, Frank.

That being said, let's talk about the strengths of some of these songs. Despite the half @$$ed, this album packs some insanely good tracks. Bone Machine is an example of one. Tony's Theme has great instrumentation, but the production ruins the verses. Something Against You is superb, and Albini's vocal production works wonders here. It keeps up the pace well with Broken Face, an awesome sing-along song, with lyrics about incest! Of course, Where is My Mind is a classic Pixies song, a song about losing your mind, while feeling meaningful at the same ________ time. I love the dirge of cactus (which the production really does wonder, sounds like something cmoing out of a jail cell, vocals and all), and the lyrics are so good they will be implanted in your brain for a long time. Oh My Golly is extremely fun and the actual realy latin feel actually makes the song better! Brick is Red is a soothing closer.

The rest of the album is forgettable, which hurts the score of the album by a longshot. To make matters worse, a lot of the songs have good verses/choruses, but are ruined by something else that probably takes about two minutes of music off the song (example: The totally stupid chorus of Gigantic. It's a shame, and the lack of song craft at times sounds like a crappy garage band. Yeah, they were definitely more than a garage band, you can hear the sound coming through, but it still wasn't entirely together.

Plenty of the strong songs really help the score because they are so damn good, but it has too many problems with the overrall factors (I ain't giving you a list, that would take a long time my friend). I recommend you to listen to it, yes, but beware the hype.

6.5/10

Following their remarkable debut EP "Come On Pilgrim," Pixies teamed with the great Steve Albini for their debut LP, "Surfer Rosa," which itself became a touchstone of independent, "alternative" music, cited by Kurt Cobain as one of his favorite albums and a significant influence on Nirvana's music.
From the bombastic (and perfectly tuned, mic'ed, and recorded) drum intro of "Bone Machine," to the strange beauty of Gigantic, and the punk intensity of "Something Against You," to the snaking bass line and lyrical genius of "Cactus," this album is as huge in its span as it is in its sound.
Never again would the Pixies so much as attempt to match the grit and grime of this album, and that's probably for the best. But for all the nice production values of Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde, they never sounded better, and they surely never had a better album cover.

The 80s was for the most part, a horrible decade for music. But as you look closer you find that the underground was where all the truly great music was. Groups like Fang, The Replacements, NWA, Public Enemy, and Husker Du pushing against the mainstream Warrant, Bon Jovi, Wham..etc. The Pixies were of course in the brilliant rather than the popular, which seemed to happen with many underground great bands, and never completely came up to the surface (Except for developing a huge cult following).

Everything you have heard about this album is deserved. Abrasive as the most hardcore songs on Husker Du's Zen Arcade ("Pride", "I'll Never Forget You"), yet with a small allowance of melody. It makes sense that Steve Albini from Big Black would be willing to produce the band, because this music is intense.

Now, while I prefer the Pixie's second full release Doolittle for songs, Doolittle is essentially the same album with catchier melodies, and Surfer Rosa is nothing if not raw. Listening to the album is a lot like having toasters thrown at you while you ride your bike down the street: It's exhilarating but you wouldn't want to do it all day long.

On to the actual songs. One of the two best songs Kim Deal ever wrote is here in "Gigantic", while her other best is now featured on VH1 countdowns, go figure. "Bone Machine", "Break My Body", "Broken Face", and "Vamos" are all brilliant intense songs, but "Where Is My Mind?" is the climax here and maybe the best song the Pixies ever wrote.

If you're going to get into Pixies, I wouldn't recommend diving headfirst into Surfer Rosa, Doolittle is much easier the first time around. But while Doolittle is their most melodic and fun album, Surfer Rosa is by far their most intense and one of the greatest albums of the 80s.

The Pixies-Surfer Rosa *****


I seriously debated with myself whether or not to even review Surfer Rosa due to that simple fact that for me personally with this album there is no way for me not to be biased. This has truly been one of the most important albums in my life.

In a nutshell Surfer Rosa is easily the strongest and best Pixies album ever released, and aside from that it is honestly the best album to emerge from the 1980's far surpassing Appetite For Destruction, The Joshua Tree, Rain Dogs, and anything else you can think of.

The true mix of hardcore and pop make Surfer Rosa a knockout. Black's sneering vocals and lyrics of incest and pain among other things is to say the least, breathtaking. Kim Deals vocals are the best they ever sounded, even better then with The Breeders.

The rocking fun of 'Tony's Theme' aside classics like the manic 'Cactus' and the albums opener 'Bone Machine' make Surfer Rosa not only amazing but eclectic. The insanity of 'Broken Face' 'Break My Body' and 'Something Against You' are so violent yet beautiful it baffles you. 'River Euphrates' is beyond explanation while Deals 'Gigantic' is so near perfect its strange. The final four songs on the album are a juxtaposition of Mexico and punk that somehow make this album essential but would ruin anyone else's. But the center piece of Surfer Rosa is the haunting 'Where Is My Mind' which is once again the best thing the group ever did as well as the best song to emerge from the 1980's. The song is among my personal favorites and honestly brings tears to my eyes upon every listen.

To summarize quickly, Surfer Rosa is essential, it is more important then any album of the 1990's because well it inspired them all, and it is always refreshing to hear so it is one that I will recommend to everyone who likes music.

This CD is fantastic! It's definitely worth buying. It's my favorite of all The Pixies' albums.