''Bossanova'' is the third studio album by American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band Pixies. It was released on August 13, 1990, by English

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4AD in the United Kingdom and by

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

in the United States. Because of 4AD's independent status, major label Elektra handled distribution in the USA. ''Bossanova'' reached number 70 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album peaked at number three in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. Two singles were released from ''Bossanova''; " Velouria" and " Dig for Fire". Both charted on the '' Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart in the USA, at No. 4 and No. 11, respectively.

Background

After Pixies finished touring for their second album, '' Doolittle'' (1989), in January 1990, band members Black Francis,

Joey Santiago Joseph Alberto Santiago (born June 10, 1965) is a Filipino-American guitarist and composer. Active since 1986, Santiago is best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of the alternative rock band Pixies. After the band's breakup in 1993, ...

, and David Lovering moved from

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. Bassist Kim Deal stayed in the UK to record the Breeders' first album in January with producer

Steve Albini Steven Frank Albini (; July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (band), ...

, although she ultimately decided to travel out to Los Angeles with the rest of the group. Lovering stated that he, Santiago, and Francis moved to Los Angeles because that's where they intended to record their next album. The three band members lived in the Oakwood apartments, along with comic Garrett Morris and members of the band

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. Producer

Gil Norton Gil Norton (born in Liverpool) is an English record producer known for his work with alternative rock bands such as Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, Foo Fighters, Tribe, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Feeder, the Distillers, Maxïm ...

also moved into the apartment complex.Frank; Ganz, p. 174

Recording and production

Pixies started recording material for ''Bossanova'' at Cherokee Studios in February 1990, where the sessions ran into problems. Norton said that nothing could be recorded after 6 p.m. because the recording desk would pick up pirate radio stations. Norton decided to work on overdubs in another studio for a few days until the problem was corrected, but when he returned to Cherokee, he found that any time something was plugged into a guitar amplifier it would generate "this incredible hum". Norton refused to tell 4AD owner Ivo Watts-Russell about the problem until he felt he could address it. One day while visiting a bar, Norton and Santiago met producer Rick Rubin and informed him of their situation. Rubin had his secretary find another studio for the group, and the band continued recording at Master Control.

Composition

Black Francis wrote one of the songs on the album, "Blown Away", in Spain in early June 1989 while on tour. The song was recorded with producer Gil Norton, who was specially flown in for the one-song session, at Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin, after their June 19 concert there. In contrast to previous records, many songs were written in the studio and few demo recordings were created. Santiago said that the band only practiced for a two-week period, in contrast to previous albums, when the band would rehearse constantly in Boston.Frank; Ganz, p. 175 Black Francis noted, "So I was writing yricson napkins five minutes before I sang. Sometimes it's good, sometimes not. That's just the nature of that songwriting."

Release

The album was released in August 1990 on 4AD in the UK, and jointly by 4AD and Elektra in the USA. After 4AD re-acquired sole distribution rights for Pixies' back catalog, a re-issued (although not remastered) CD appeared solely on 4AD in the US in 2004. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released a version in 2008 that was remastered from the original analog master tapes.

Critical reception

The UK reviews of ''Bossanova'' were generally positive. In his September 1990 review of ''Bossanova'', '' Q''s Mat Snow said that "the Pixies are masters of the calculated incongruity," and commented that "they give other rockers an object lesson in the first principles of how it should be done." Terry Staunton of ''

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'' noted that the album's production "leans towards the harsh garage

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of '' Surfer Rosa'', although the songs retain the strong melodies of ''Doolittle''," and said that "''Bossanova'' is the composite Pixies LP." In comparison to the band's previous albums, ''

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'' reviewer Moira McCormick described ''Bossanova'' as "more of a straight-ahead rock album – by the Pixies' standards, meaning it's still safely off the mainstream." UK magazine '' Select'' made ''Bossanova'' their album of the year for 1990. The album is included in the book '' 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die''.

Track listing

Personnel

Pixies * Black Francis – vocals, guitar * Kim Deal – bass guitar, vocals * David Lovering – drums, vocals *

– lead guitar Additional musicians * Robert F. Brunner – theremin ("Velouria", "Is She Weird") Technical *

– producer * Alistair Clay – engineer * Steven Haigler – mixing * Jack Benson – assistant engineer * Gregg Barrett – assistant engineer * Moses Schneider – assistant engineer * Andrew Ballard – assistant engineer * Scott Blockland – assistant engineer * Howie Weinberg – mastering * Vaughan Oliver / V23 – design * Chris Bigg – design assistance * Pirate Design – artwork * Anne Garrigues – artwork * Simon Larbalestier – photography * Kevin Westenberg – photography

Charts

Certifications and sales

Notes

References

* Frank, Josh; Ganz, Caryn. '' Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies''. Virgin Books, 2005. . {{Authority control 1990 albums 4AD albums Albums produced by Gil Norton Elektra Records albums Pixies (band) albums Grunge albums Space rock albums