Surfer Rosa by Pixies
Surfer Rosa is the first full-length album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released in March 1988 on the British independent record label 4AD. The album's unusual and offbeat subject matter includes references to mutilation and voyeurism; this is augmented by experimental recording, low-fidelity production and a distinctive drum sound. Surfer Rosa contains many of the elements present in Pixies' earlier output, including Spanish lyrics and references to Puerto Rico. Because of 4AD's independent status, distribution in the United States was handled by British label Rough Trade Records; however, it failed to chart in either the UK or the U.S. "Gigantic" was the only single taken from the release (in a re-recorded version), and only reached number 93 on the UK Singles Chart. Despite this, Surfer Rosa was re-released in the U.S. by Elektra Records in 1992, and in 2005 was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Surfer Rosa is often cited as a favorite of music critics and is frequently included on professional lists of the all-time best rock albums. Many alternative rock artists, including Billy Corgan and PJ Harvey, have cited the album as inspirational; Nirvana's Kurt Cobain frequently acknowledged that Surfer Rosa was a strong influence on Nevermind, and, in 1993, Cobain hired the album's producer Steve Albini to produce his band's album In Utero.
Delivering on the promise of singer Black Francis’ classified ad seeking a bassist “into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary”, <i>Surfer Rosa</i> contrasted the visceral attack of punk and hardcore with the prettiness of pop and folk, resulting in songs (“Gigantic”, “River Euphrates”, “Where Is My Mind?”) as strange as they were pleasurable. Despite their arty slant, there was something scrappy, almost ordinary about the band that only made the mystery deeper: these weren’t the delicate transmissions of celestial beings but the weirdo racket of a nearby garage. What emerged was a new kind of American Gothic: beautiful, harsh, funny and perverted—a sound that reshaped indie rock for Nirvana, the ‘90s and beyond.
