Upon its release on April 17, 1989, Pixies’ Doolittle was met with universal claim and many record sales. Returning to the record now, that fact could be seen as shocking. It is an album with such complex production styles and the loudness dips in and out and points in every direction except the top of the radio charts. Kim Dean’s infectious bass lines mixed with the wonky vocals from Black Francis made this album seem like more of an artistic effort than a commercial success that, 35 years later, is still being discussed. It is hard to imagine driving to work early and hearing “Monkey Gone to Heaven” in the dim lighting of the morning sun. Therein lies the magic of Doolittle; Pixies made the daring conventional and single-handedly change the direction of popular music as we know it.
The reasons for this album’s longevity are clear now, but at the time, the risks taken on Doolittle may have been too daring for anyone except Pixies. The album was recorded in the fall of 1988, with the band teaming up with producer Gil Norton, who brought on mixing engineer Steven Haigler, who stunningly executed the band’s vision. Famously, the mix on the album has the songs dipping in and out of explosiveness and subtle, a formula that became the standard in 90’s rock. More than being an authentic representation of Pixies’ limitless creativity, Doolittle set the bar for the future of rock and that bar is not easy to latch on to. To create an album like this it takes the utmost confidence in yourself and your art, Pixies trusted their lofty ideas and spun them into 15 hard-hitting, punk-influenced surf rock that continue to influence generation after generation.
We’re not exactly breaking new ground by having nothing but high praise for this Pixies LP. Upon release, the album was met with critical acclaim across the board and became the breakout success the band was looking for at the time. While singles from the album went on to do exceptionally well, listening back there are no clear radio smashes on here. The magic of Doolittle is that it wasn’t the band folding to the pressures of succeeding and falling in line with what is popular; they created the album they felt they wanted to make and forced the world of rock to conform to their standards.
The dynamics of this album have been and will continue to be studied for generations. The band took a unique approach to the mix of these songs, creating moments of quiet bliss that explode into ear-pounding, punk-influenced guitar riffs. The give-and-take of it all became the standard for ’90s rock, creating sonic tension that thickens the air only to explode in a dazzling firework-style display of dense textures. This allowed the hectic nature of “Tame” to sound right at home on the same tracklist as the more conventional “Hey”. By setting unpredictable expectations, the tracklist was able to roam from one sonic universe to the next with ease and created an album that challenged the idea of what could become popular.
Doolittle is officially 35 years old, and if it sounds refreshing and youthful decades later, it makes sense that it was met with universal accolades when it was released. The emotions are potent, and the melodies are infectious despite being delivered in a whirlwind of fuzz and distorted harmonies. Doolittle is an album that continues shaping generations of artists who aim to create albums that reach the title of “essential listening.”
