Head Carrier

Head Carrier is the sixth studio album by the American alternative rock band the Pixies, released on September 30, 2016 on Pixiesmusic and PIAS. Produced by Tom Dalgety, and recorded at RAK Studios in London, the album is the first to feature bass guitarist Paz Lenchantin, who joined the band in 2014 to tour in support of its previous album, Indie Cindy.

Head Carrier
Studio album by
Pixies
ReleasedSeptember 30, 2016 (2016-09-30)
RecordedFebruary–March, 2016
StudioRAK Studios, London
GenreAlternative rock, indie rock, pop rock
Length33:48
LabelPixiesmusic, PIAS
ProducerTom Dalgety
Pixies chronology
Indie Cindy
(2014)		 Head Carrier
(2016)		 Beneath the Eyrie
(2019)
Singles from Head Carrier
  1. "Um Chagga Lagga"
    Released: July 6, 2016
  2. "Tenement Song"
    Released: September 5, 2016
  3. "Classic Masher"
    Released: November 24, 2016
  4. "Bel Esprit"
    Released: March 17, 2017
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?5.9/10[1]
Metacritic64/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The A.V. ClubC[4]
The Guardian[5]
The Independent[6]
Mojo[7]
NME4/5[8]
Pitchfork5.5/10[9]
Q[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
Uncut6/10[12]

The album's title references a cephalophore, a saint carrying his own head, more specifically St. Denis of Paris.

Background

Production started around late 2015 after finding a new producer, Tom Dalgety (replacing previous producer Gil Norton, who had worked on the Pixies last four albums). They met with him as they were recording demos for the followup of their 2014 album Indie Cindy. Previously they had debuted a number of songs live that they were test-driving as potential tracks for their next album. Such tracks included "Super Lecker", "O' Little Cloud", and "Down to Tulom".[13]

This album marks the first full appearance of bassist Paz Lenchantin after replacing previous bassist Kim Deal, who left the band in 2013. Lenchantin had previously been featured on the bonus track "Women of War" (a vinyl bonus track off of Indie Cindy), as well as live tracks for the deluxe edition of the same album. Lenchantin had previously been the touring bassist, but was promoted to full-time member starting with this album. She also has a writing credit and lead vocals for the song "All I Think About Now", which was written about Kim Deal and takes on the form of a thank-you letter.[14]

The album was officially announced on July 6, 2016 with the release of its first single "Um Chagga Lagga". This was followed up by a second single, "Talent", on August 17, 2016. The whole album was streamed on NPR starting on September 22, 2016.[15]

Track listing

All music by the Pixies, all lyrics by Black Francis apart from “All I Think About Now", by Francis and Lenchantin.[16]

Standard edition
No.TitleLength
1."Head Carrier"3:36
2."Classic Masher"2:37
3."Baal's Back"1:54
4."Might as Well Be Gone"2:48
5."Oona"3:38
6."Talent"2:12
7."Tenement Song"2:57
8."Bel Esprit"3:12
9."All I Think About Now"3:07
10."Um Chagga Lagga"3:00
11."Plaster of Paris"2:06
12."All the Saints"2:41
Total length:33:48

Personnel

Pixies

Technical personnel

Charts
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 23
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[18] 37
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 5
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] 14
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 13
French Albums (SNEP)[22] 15
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 32
Irish Albums (IRMA)[24] 31
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[25] 20
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[26] 21
Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] 5
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[28] 23
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] 32
UK Albums (OCC)[30] 7
US Billboard 200[31] 72

Year-end charts
Chart (2016) Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[32] 135
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References
  1. "Head Carrier by Pixies reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  2. "Reviews for Head Carrier by Pixies". Metacritic. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  3. Phares, Heather. "Head Carrier – Pixies". AllMusic. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  4. Colburn, Randall (September 30, 2016). "Pixies sound confident on Head Carrier, but the music lacks personality". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  5. Mumford, Gwilym (September 29, 2016). "Pixies: Head Carrier review – indie-rock veterans fail to match past glories". The Guardian. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  6. Gill, Andy (September 28, 2016). "Album reviews: Drive-by Truckers, Van Morrison, Bon Iver, Pixies, Regina Spektor and more". The Independent. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  7. Perry, Andrew (October 2016). "Capo di tutti". Mojo (275): 90.
  8. Beaumont, Mark (September 28, 2016). "Pixies – 'Head Carrier' Review". NME. Archived from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  9. Berman, Stuart (October 6, 2016). "Pixies: Head Carrier". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  10. Doherty, Niall (November 2016). "Black Magic". Q (365): 109.
  11. Harris, Keith (September 30, 2016). "Review: Pixies' 'Head Carrier' Features New Bassist, Old Sound". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  12. Bonner, Michael (October 2016). "Pixies: Head Carrier". Uncut (233): 37.
  13. Kory Grow (June 2, 2015). "See Pixies Play 'Planet of Sound,' New Song 'Um Chagga Lagga'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  14. Marc Hogan (August 4, 2016). "Pixies' Black Francis and Paz Lenchantin On Head Carrier and Replacing Kim Deal'". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  15. Heller, Jason (September 22, 2016). "First Listen: Pixies, 'Head Carrier'". npr. npr. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  16. "Head Carrier Lyrics". 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  17. "Australiancharts.com – Pixies – Head Carrier". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  18. "Austriancharts.at – Pixies – Head Carrier" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  19. "Ultratop.be – Pixies – Head Carrier" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  20. "Ultratop.be – Pixies – Head Carrier" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  21. "Dutchcharts.nl – Pixies – Head Carrier" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  22. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 40, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  23. "Offiziellecharts.de – Pixies – Head Carrier" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  24. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 41, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  25. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. October 10, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  26. "Portuguesecharts.com – Pixies – Head Carrier". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  27. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  28. "TOP 100 ALBUMES — SEMANA 40: del 30.09.2016 al 06.10.2016" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  29. "Swisscharts.com – Pixies – Head Carrier". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  30. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  31. "Pixies Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  32. "Jaaroverzichten 2016 Albums". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
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