''Trompe le Monde'' is the fourth studio album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released on September 23, 1991 on

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name "Axis" (after the Hendrix album) by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD af ...

in the United Kingdom and on September 24, 1991 on

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 1 ...

in the United States. Recorded in

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, Paris and London, the album was produced by Gil Norton, and was Pixies' final studio album before their subsequent break-up two years later. ''Trompe le Monde'' is the last album to feature founding bass guitarist Kim Deal.

Composition

" Head On" is a cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain track. It was released as a single and reached number 6 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart in the U.S. "U-Mass" is a song about the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where

Black Francis Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Fo ...

met Joey Santiago before dropping out to form Pixies. In a 2001 interview, Santiago recalled that the original guitar riff was written while they were still enrolled at the school.

Artwork and packaging

The album name comes from the title of the first track, "Trompe le Monde", a French phrase () meaning "Fool the World". Unlike previous albums, the title of the album comes from the name of a song (rather than a song lyric), and is a play on the French phrase " Trompe-l'œil", a painting technique in which the painter fools the viewer into thinking objects presented are real. On some versions of the CD, the title is erroneously printed as ''Tromp le Monde'' on the disc itself.

Critical reception

Michael Bonner of ''Lime Lizard'' described ''Trompe le Monde'' as "one of the best albums that you may very well ever hear" and "a strong contender for best album of the 20th century". In a retrospective review, AllMusic writer Heather Phares noted the reduced role of Kim Deal, calling it "essentially Black Francis' solo debut". Tom Ewing of ''

Freaky Trigger ''Freaky Trigger'' is an Internet publication and e-zine that focuses on popular culture with topics varying from music to cinema. It was founded by the music critic Tom Ewing in 1999 and features Pete Baran and Mark Sinker as editors. From 2000 ...

'' named ''Trompe le Monde'' his ninth favorite album of the 1990s, describing it as "clean-lined sci-fi popmetal, perpetually underrated."

Track listing

Personnel

Pixies *

– vocals, guitar * Kim Deal – bass guitar, vocals * David Lovering – drums * Joey Santiago – lead guitar Additional musicians * Eric Drew Feldman – keyboards, synthetics * Jef Feldman – tabla,

doumbek The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; arz, دربوكة / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet- ...

("Space (I Believe in)", "Lovely Day") Technical * Gil Norton – producer *

Steven Haigler Steven Haigler is an American record producer of alternative, grunge, hardcore, and popular music, notably ''Sunburn'' (1998) by Fuel, ''February Son'' (1999) by Oleander, '' As Good as Dead'' (1996) by Local H, ''Slip'' (1993) by Quicksand, an ...

– engineer * Andrew Ballard – assistant engineer * John McDonnell – assistant engineer * Ken Gardner – assistant engineer * Scott Blockland – assistant engineer * Philipe Tousche – assistant engineer * Vaughan Oliver / v23 – art direction, design * Chris Bigg – design assistance * Paul McMenamin – design assistance *

Simon Larbalestier Simon Larbalestier (born 1962 in Pembrokeshire) is a Wales, Welsh photographer. Larbalestier is noted for his collaborative work with Vaughan Oliver and the design studios 23 Envelope and v23 with whom he has provided photography used on the album ...

– photography *

Steven Appleby Steven Appleby (born 27 January 1956) is an absurdist cartoonist, illustrator and artist living in Britain. She is a dual citizen of the UK and Canada. Her humour has been described as “observational or absurd, with a keen sense of the turmoil ...

– artwork (rockets) * TPP Ltd. London – typesetting

Charts

Certifications and sales

References

* Frank, Josh; Ganz, Caryn. '' Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies''. Virgin Books, 2005. .

External links

* Allmusic: ''Trompe le Monde'' {{Authority control 1991 albums 4AD albums Albums produced by Gil Norton Elektra Records albums Pixies (band) albums