Pixies - Bossanova (1990), 6/10

While the style and sentiments in Doolittle and Surfer Rosa are infinitely valuable, the latter especially, and they even have much stronger individual songs, Bossanova is perhaps an equally consistently enjoyable project from start to finish. There is a clear intention and focused consistency in comparison to their prior work despite the fact that the album does not reach prior heights. There are still some hard hitters among the mostly level pack, yet the experience just doesn't quite reach the massive energy of their debut or its follow-up. A peak example of its power being "Rock Music", a shining example of how Frank Black can reach through the speakers with textural affect and growling tones. Bossanova hosts plenty of hard rocking songs perfectly tied together and aptly paced, with the most fitting graceful "Havalina" closing out the list. Apart from perhaps "Ana" or "Blown Away" there is not a truly weak song on the track list. Songs like "All Over the World" or "Blown Away" grab one's attention and make the wait worth its build. The compositions are short enough to progress quite quickly, almost as if the band wished to establish a motif and quickly retreat into the next, the longest fittingly being the most interesting explored theme. Certainly not host to Pixies best singles, as that is quite a high bar to reach, but still among their best albums from a standpoint of invariably high quality rock music.