Pixies have a new album on the way -- The Night the Zombies Came releases on October 25, and to celebrate the new album, the band played some of the new tunes for World Cafe through NPR. Their last album was Doggerel from 2022.
The prolific band played four tracks from the forthcoming album. The four-piece -- consisting of Charles Thompson, aka Black Francis, David Lovering, Joey Santiago, and new bassist Emma Richardson -- looked relaxed as they launched easily into "You're So Impatient." The song featured some wicked shredding from Santiago and vocals from both Thompson and Richardson.
Meanwhile, "Chicken" is a slow, meandering zombie walk of a song, shuffling through its phrases with a loping bassline. Sometimes I feel like a chicken / Pecking my way through the trees / When something aloft / Cuts my head right off / Now I'm dealing with decapitation, Thompson sings. The band released "Chicken" in July. They also performed "Jane (The Night the Zombies Came)," and "Vegas Suite."
Listen to some of the mini concert below, or check out the video here.
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Back in March, the Pixies announced some sad news for all diehard fans. Longtime bassist Paz Lenchantin was departing the band, and they named a replacement around the same time.
The band released a brief statement at the time, which didn't do much to quell the disappointment of fans. "Lenchantin has exited the band to concentrate on her own projects," the statement read. "We are grateful for Paz's contributions, and wish her all the best going forward."
Pixies announced that Emma Richardson would join as the new bassist. Richardson was the former bassist for the U.K. act Band of Skulls, but left in 2022 to pursue painting full-time. However, she apparently heeded the call of the Pixies, and stepped up to be their new bassist and vocalist.
"Emma will make her worldwide touring debut with Pixies on the first night of the 'Bossanova x Trompe Le Monde' European tour, beginning this Friday in Dublin," the band posted at the time. Then, it was only stated that Richardson would stand in for Lenchantin during the Pixies tour. However, it looks like she's become a permanent member of the band now.