''Head Carrier'' is the sixth studio album by the American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band the Pixies, released on September 30, 2016 on Pixiesmusic and

PIAS PIAS or Pias may refer to: * PIAS Group, a UK music company ** PIAS Recordings (Play It Again Sam), an independent record label based in London and owned by the PIAS Entertainment Group * PIAS Group, a Japanese cosmetic company * Protein inhibitor ...

. Produced by

Tom Dalgety Tom Dalgety is an English record producer and audio engineer. He is most noted for his work with Pixies, Ghost, and Royal Blood. He was nominated for Grammy Awards in 2019 for his production work on the Ghost album ''Prequelle'' (Best Rock Album ...

, and recorded at RAK Studios in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the album is the first to feature new band member

Paz Lenchantin Paz Lenchantin (born December 12, 1973) is an Argentine-American musician. She has been the bass guitarist of the alternative rock band Pixies since 2014. She also played bass or strings with various bands, including Entrance, A Perfect Circle, ...

on bass guitar, who joined the band in 2014 to tour in support of its previous album, ''

Indie Cindy ''Indie Cindy'' is the fifth studio album by the American alternative rock band the Pixies. Released in April 2014, it was the band's first album since 1991's '' Trompe le Monde'', and the first Pixies album not to feature bass guitar player Kim D ...

''. The album's title references a cephalophore, a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

carrying his own head, more specifically St. Denis of Paris.

Background

Production started around late 2015 after finding a new producer, Tom Dalgety (replacing previous producer Gil Norton, who had worked on the Pixies last four albums). The band met with him as they were recording demos for the followup of their 2014 album ''

''. Previously they had debuted a number of songs live that they were testing as potential tracks for their next album. Such tracks included "Super Lecker", "O' Little Cloud", and "Down to Tulom". This album marks the first full appearance of bassist

(former

A Perfect Circle A Perfect Circle is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle has released four studio albums, the first three during the early 2000s: ' ...

and

Zwan Zwan was an American alternative rock Supergroup (music), supergroup that was formed by Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin, lead singer/guitarist and drummer of The Smashing Pumpkins respectively, after they disbanded in December 2000. Other memb ...

), after replacing previous bassist

Kim Deal Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was the bassist and the co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies, before forming the Breeders in 1989. Deal joined Pixies in January ...

, who left the band in 2013. Lenchantin had previously been featured on the bonus track "Women of War" (a vinyl bonus track off of ''Indie Cindy''), as well as live tracks for the deluxe edition of the same album. Lenchantin had previously been the touring bassist, but was promoted to full-time member starting with this album. She also has a writing credit and lead vocals for the song "All I Think About Now", which was written about Kim Deal and takes on the form of a thank-you letter. The album was officially announced on July 6, 2016 with the release of its first single "Um Chagga Lagga". This was followed up by a second single, "Talent", on August 17, 2016. The whole album was streamed on NPR starting on September 22, 2016.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.Pixies: Head Carrier
. Discogs.com. Retrieved on August 17, 2020. *

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 ...

– lead vocals, guitar * Joey Santiago – lead guitar *

– bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "All I Think About Now" * David Lovering – drums ;Technical *

–

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

, mixing *Rob Brinkman – engineering assistant *

Vaughan Oliver Vaughan Oliver (12 September 1957 – 29 December 2019) was a British graphic designer based in Epsom, Surrey. Oliver was best known for his work with graphic design studios 23 Envelope and v23. Both studios maintained a close relationship with ...

– art direction, design *Joshua Price – design assistance *Ian Pollock – illustrations

Charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2016 albums Pixies (band) albums PIAS Recordings albums Albums produced by Tom Dalgety