Another new Pixies release is on the way. The band has announced that its new EP, EP-2 is available now for fans via the band’s official website, http://pixiesmusic.com. The new EP-contains four new songs – ‘Blue-Eyed Hexe’, ‘Magdalena’, ‘Greens and Blues’, and ‘Snakes.’ It also includes a music video for ‘Blue-Eyed Hexe.’
The band recorded the songs last October at Rockfield Studios in Wales, UK. All four of the songs on the new EP were written by the band members. EP-2 also includes special artwork by Vaughan Oliverat v23. It is available as an MP3, lossless DDL, limited edition ten-inch vinyl, and as part of special bundles. The video for ‘Blue-Eyed Hexe’ can be viewed via YouTube now at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEBpvpomwG4. The band recently discussed the songs included in its new EP. Their thoughts on each song are shared below.
Pixies talk about the four new songs on “EP-2”
“Blue-Eyed Hexe”
About this track, Pixies’ Black Francis explained, “It’s a tale from the northwestern part of the UK, and it’s a witch-woman kind of a song. That’s what a ‘hexe’ is, and ours is a blue-eyed hexe.” Guitarist Joey Santiago added, “Gil wanted a swagger, he wanted the guitar solo to sound like you’re going to have sex with this blue-eyed hexe.”
“Magdalena”
“This song is so atmospheric,” remembered Santiago. “We had these weird Moog pedals that sounded like water. It was a very mood-based, atmospheric sound, not based on any lyrics or anything.” Added drummer David Lovering, “One of my favorites, maybe tied with ‘Indie Cindy.’ It’s cool the way it flows, and it’s a very simplistic song, very pretty, cool and moving.”
“Greens and Blues”
Said Black Francis, “As with all my songs, I would prefer people add their own interpretation to it. But, in this case, let’s just say that we had done ‘Gigantic’ as the closer for many years at our reunion shows and it worked really well. But I could see that we were going to grow weary of that and I felt like we basically needed a better ‘Gigantic.’ It was my attempt to come up with another song that would – musically, emotionally and psychologically – sit in the same place that ‘Gigantic’ has sat. Not that I could ever replace that song: you write songs and they come out the way they come out. So perhaps it can be said that this song fills the emotional niche that ‘Gigantic’ occupied, another show-closer. I think the lyric alludes to that, the fact that it’s the end of the night, the end of something. And a separation if you will, between the band and the audience. So I guess it’s kind of a goodbye song, or really more of a ‘good night’ song.
“Snakes”
“I’m not a jammer,” said Santiago, “but Black Francis and I started jamming it out. I had this little idea and I did that sliding guitar just to emulate a snake.” Black Francis adds, “This one was totally written in the studio session. It proved to be a little bit difficult to play and a little bit difficult to record, sonically, but we stuck with it and I like the result.”
The new EP comes as the band continues its tour in support of EP-1. The next leg of the band’s tour begins January 15th in Toronto. Pixies fans in North Carolina will get the chance to see the band live on this leg of its tour when it makes a stop in Durham on January 31st at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC). The most up-to-date list of the band’s tour dates is available below. More dates will be announced at later dates.
JANUARY
15 Massey Hall, Toronto, ON CANADA (Fidlar)
16 Metropolis, Montreal, QC CANADA (Fidlar)
18 Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA (Fidlar)
19 Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY (Fidlar)
21 New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ (Fidlar)
22 Shubert Theatre, New Haven, CT (Fidlar)
24 Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA (Fidlar)
25 Carnegie Music Hall, Pittsburgh, PA (Fidlar)
26 Strathmore, Washington, DC (Fidlar)
29 National Theatre, Richmond, VA (Fidlar)
31 Durham PAC, Durham, NC (Cults)
FEBRUARY
1 Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, Asheville, NC (Cults)
2 Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN (Cults)
4 Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA (Cults)
6 Peabody Opera House, St. Louis, MO (Cults)
7 LC Pavilion, Columbus, OH (Cults)
8 The Fillmore, Detroit, MI (Cults)
9 Rivera Theatre, Chicago, IL (Cults)
11 Midland Theatre, Kansas City, MO (Cults)
13 Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO (Best Coast)
14 Belly Up, Aspen, CO (Best Coast)
15 The Great Salt Air, Salt Lake City, UT (Best Coast)
17 Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, BC CANADA (Best Coast)
18 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA (Best Coast)
19 Schnitzer Auditorium, Portland, OR (Best Coast)
21 Fox Theatre, Oakland, CA (Best Coast)
22 San Jose Civic, San Jose, CA
23 The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV (Best Coast)
24 Comercia Theatre, Phoenix, AZ (Best Coast)
25 Kiva Auditorium, Albuquerque, NM (Best Coast)
27 Bayou Music Center, Houston, TX (Best Coast)
28 South Side Ballroom, Dallas, TX (Best Coast)
MARCH
1 Austin Music Hall, Austin, TX (Best Coast)
APRIL
1 Rock’n’Fall, Montevideo, Uruguay
1/3 Lollapalooza Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina
3/5 Festival Estereo Picnic, Bogota Colombia
5/6 Lollapalooza Brazil, Sao Paulo, Brazil
MAY
29/30 Primavera Sound, Barcelona, Spain
JUNE
6/7 Primavera Sound, Porto, Portugal
8 Field Day, Victoria Park, London, UK
15 Northside, Arhus, Denmark
20 Best Kept Secret, Hilvarenbeek, Holland
20/22 Hurricane, Schessel, Germany
20/22 Southside, Neuhausen, Germany
25 Inmusic, Zagreb, Croatia
29 Marley Park, Dublin, Ireland (with Arcade Fire)
30 Live at the Marquee, Cork, Ireland
JULY
5 Rock Werchter, Werchter, Belgium
6 Beauregard, Herouville-St. Clair, France
More information on the band’s tour, its new EP, and more is available online at http://pixiesmusic.com, http://www.facebook.com/pixiesofficial, http://twitter.com/pixies, and http://www.myspace.com/pixies. To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.