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Pixies

8 Tracks: What was the Steve Albini sound? Almost everything

Artists like Superchunk, Neurosis, Pixies, Low, Mogwai and Joanna Newsom came to recording engineer Steve Albini when they had something righteous or defiant to proclaim. Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty hide caption

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Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty

Music

8 Tracks: What was the Steve Albini sound? Almost everything

If an artist was willing to confront their truths, Albini was ready to take them into the gaping maw. The recording engineer, who died last week, left an indelible mark on how we hear music.

Unfinished Business

Frank Black (right) and Joey Santiago of the Pixies perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2004, the year the band reunited after more than a decade apart. Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images hide caption

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Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

The Record

Unfinished Business

Bands like Pixies, Pavement and Sleater-Kinney might reunite for money, unfulfilled glory or a renewed creative spark. But can album sales help us measure how much they have been missed?

First Listen: Pixies, 'Indie Cindy'

The Pixies new album, Indie Cindy, comes out April 29. Jay Blakesberg/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jay Blakesberg/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Pixies, 'Indie Cindy'

As assembled here, the songs on Indie Cindy form a worthwhile, frequently terrific document of a band forever in transition, even in middle age. It's music born out of chaos, same as it ever was.

Pixies, 'Indie Cindy'

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.
Pixies: Tiny Desk Concert
John W. Poole/John W. Poole

Tiny Desk

Pixies: Tiny Desk Concert

This three-song set features a 2014 tune called "Greens and Blues," a song yet to make it onto a Pixies release called "Silver Snail," and 1989's "Monkey Gone to Heaven," which melted hearts and seared minds with a new memory from a time long past.

Pixies: Tiny Desk Concert

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New Music: Pixies, Volcano Choir, John Grant, More

Clockwise from upper left: Volcano Choir, Black Francis of Pixies, John Grant, Dessa Courtesy of the artists hide caption

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Courtesy of the artists

All Songs Considered

New Music: Pixies, Volcano Choir, John Grant, More

This week's episode of All Songs Considered features the return of the Pixies, plus songs by Justin Vernon's side project Volcano Choir, the rapper Dessa and a pair of stellar live performers.

New Music: Pixies, Volcano Choir, John Grant, More

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Review

Music Reviews

Radio-Friendly: The Kooks, Carey and More

Esquire music critic Andy Langer discusses the week's new releases, including albums by The Kooks, Mariah Carey, The Black Angels, and former Pixies singer Black Francis, a.k.a. Frank Black.

Radio-Friendly: The Kooks, Carey and More

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