Don't look at Bossanova for being the poppiest Pixies album.
Think of it as the one where Frank Black Francis (or just 'Charles') screams the
least.

It's still the Pixies. No Kim Deal songs, but christ, look at it originally. One
song on Surfer Rosa and a half of a song on Doolittle. Big deal.
Her voice doesn't grace Bossanova very much, making Black the star
seemingly, but the musicianship is still fantastic.

And it's not that Bossanova was sloppy - in fact, it may as well be the
most accomplished work of the band. It brings out the best in Joey Santiago's
guitar, Black's voice, David Lovering's percussion, and Deal's basswork.

But enough bitching about the complaints brought upon the album - let's just
talk about the damn album.

Musically, Bossanova is the dark, spacey side of the Pixies. But even
with trippy songs like 'Ana', 'All Over the World', 'Blown Away', and
'Havalina', they still know how to rock hard, notably in 'Rock Music',
'Allison', and 'Hang Wire', and all of which are spectacular - I haven't even
mentioned the best yet.

Sci/Fi tale 'Velouria' has to be the second best. Distorted guitars and bizarre
sound effects are mixed with it's reminiscing of 50's surf rock, not to mention
one of Black's best vocal performances. Can't forget the strange 'love song',
'Is She Weird?', driven by Deal's bass.

But my very favorite is easily the band's most underrated - 'The Happening'. I
didn't even know the song existed until it started. It mixes the very best of
the album - the alien sounds, hard rock, and the lyrics... well, they explain it
all. 'They've got a ranch they call number fifty-one...'

You may hear differently, but Bossanova deserves it's place with
Surfer Rosa and Doolittle, and not just third place.