Pixies honor our fearsome October with an evocative tale of a surfer who couldn’t resist the pull of the sea —- to her doom. It’s a slashing anthem set to surreal visuals, filmed right around the corner from where I am writing. Don’t be afraid to look, and listen.
“Long Rider,” from the deathless legend’s newest effort, Beneath The Eyrie, is stuffed with the surf and punk and rock that made Bossanova a must-have decades after its release. Details and tour dates are below. Catch their wave (of mutilation), if you can.
And read my extensive reporting and interviews with Pixies while you’re at it. It’ll take awhile.
Pixies – Black Francis, Joey Santiago, David Lovering, and Paz Lenchantin – unveil a brand new music video for the song “Long Rider” from the band’s new album Beneath The Eyrie (BMG/Infectious). Presented in a surreal, dream-like fashion, the video takes its cue from the tragic death of Desiree, an ardent surfer and close friend of Lenchantin’s whose final wave claimed her life a couple of years ago. Said Lenchantin, “It was almost as if Desiree had this dream before she went surfing that morning, and hints at that even if she had known her fate, she would still have taken that wave.”
The video’s narrative was conceived by Lenchantin and pulls from the song’s lyrics which she co-wrote with Pixies’ Black Francis. Directed by Gilbert Trejo and filmed in Southern California at Will Rogers State Beach, the clip features pro-surfer Danica Elbertse, a good pal of Lenchantin’s. Lenchantin, a long-time fan of the 1960’s surf films, especially those by the ’60s and ‘7’s celebrated filmmaker George Greenough, shot the video on 16mm film with the water sequences filmed on a Super 8 camera explicitly made for underwater filming. “Long Rider” is Paz’s second Pixies music video, having directed the clip for “Classic Masher” from the band’s 2016 album Head Carrier.
Pixies have just wrapped up a completely sold-out, 33-date European tour, Leg One of the band’s 2019-2020 global tour, and will head back out again in December for a limited, seven-date North American run. Kristin Hersh will support on those dates. Pixies will then kick off 2020 with Leg Two of a 14-date tour of Japan, China, New Zealand and Australia. All dates are below, and subsequent shows for 2020 will be announced shortly. Beneath The Eyrie is available now.
DECEMBER
2 The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA
3 The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA
5 August Hall, San Francisco, CA
9 Webster Hall, New York, NY
10 College Street Music Hall, New Haven, CT
11 Boston Big Night Live, Boston, MA
12 Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ONT Canada
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Life To The Pixies!
