Doolittle has specifically become very dear to me in recent years. I really think it's the best of the Pixies albums. It has a surprising number of hit songs, if you can call them that from such an alternative band. The critics usually agree with me unless they go for Pixies debut album Surfer Rosa. Personally, I still have difficulties with Surfer Rosa, because it's a bit too unmelodic and noisy for me. Doolittle is more approachable, while still maintaining the attitude. I'm really glad to have this one on vinyl, because it also looks fantastic compared to the jewel case CD.
The album starts with an excellent power pop song Debaser. I don't know why this song didn't catch my attention before I heard it on the dance floor at an indie disco some years ago. Right now, it's one of the most defining Pixies songs. This is followed by Tame, which shows the noisier side of the band with screaming and banging in the chorus. It's not one of my favourites. Wave of Mutilation takes the album to a more approachable direction again. I really like the interplay between quiet verse and the explosive chorus. I Bleed is guided by the bass line and in a way it reminds me of the biggest hit by the Pixies Where is My Mind? This is not perhaps as catchy, but the sound is similar. Here Comes Your Man is one of the greatest songs on this album. The song is really melodic and reminds me of many 90s alternative bands, such as The Posies or Pavement. Dead is a curious noisy song with experimental guitars and muffled vocals. Monkey Gone to Heaven is another brilliant hit song with amazing 80s alternative rock sound. This song sounds like a quite good bridge between 80s and 90s alternative rock sounds. Mr. Grieves is another crazy song. It starts off as a lo-fi reggae song and in the chorus it changes into a wild stomping rock song. It's difficult to pinpoint the overall genre of this song. Crackity Jones continues with noisier guitar sounds and there are some Spanish vocal sequences that are probably supposed to sound like Mexican folk songs. La La Love You is one of the strangest songs on the album. There are seductive wolf whistles and moans in the song and it's filled with interesting guitar gimmicks. No 13 Baby is more like the later Pixies albums. The sounds are fuller and the overall feel is quite dark. There Goes My Gun has a fantastic dark Western film melody while the sounds are very much 80s alternative goth rock. Hey sounds like just a long improvised bit with lots of guitar and bass solos. Silver draws influences from Americana folk and country music, but the result is filled with distorted strangeness. The album ends with Gouge Away, which is one of the best produced songs on the album. The bass lines sound fantastic.
I'm writing here about an album that came out at the end of the 80s, which means that there must be at least a couple of music videos from the album. Still, I don't remember ever seeing any of them. Maybe this wasn't fashionable anymore at the early 90s when I started watching MTV. The video for Here Comes Your Man is a very basic music video with the band just playing the song in colourful outfits. The camera keeps going all over the place, which was fashionable at the time. It's nice to see just how nerdy the band looks in the video.
People who have read my blogs for longer know that I'm not a huge fan of 80s music. It's only been in the last few years that I've started understanding the appeal of alternative rock of that decade. For a long time, that decade meant just overly commercial pop and rock songs and most of the alternative stuff felt too experimental and noisy. After getting into this music, 90s music has felt like really simple in comparison and it's made me appreciate the 80s more. Most of these bands are among the most innovative and experimental bands in the history of rock music. Doolittle is a prime example of an album that really rewards when you get into it.
Listen to the album on Spotify.
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