| Artist | Pixies |
|---|---|
| Cover | Pixies indie cindy.jpg |
| Released | April 19, 2014 |
| Recorded | 2012 |
| Studio | Rockfield Studios, Rockfield, Wales Sonelab, Easthampton, Massachusetts The Autumn Den, Northampton, Massachusetts |
| Genre | |
| Label | Pixiesmusic, PIAS[1] |
| Producer | Gil Norton |
| Prev year | 2014 |
| Next year | 2016 |
Indie Cindy is the fifth studio album by the American alternative rock band the Pixies which was released on April 19, 2014, it was the band's first album since 1991's Trompe le Monde (1991) and the first Pixies album not to feature bass guitar player Kim Deal.[2] Instead, bass guitar duties on the album are handled by Simon "Ding" Archer, a former member of the British post-punk band The Fall.[3]
The album combines all the songs from the band's 2013–14 extended play releases—EP1, EP2, and EP3—which were recorded and produced in 2012 by Gil Norton, who produced the band's previous albums Doolittle (1989), Bossanova (1990), and Trompe le Monde.[4]
Limited numbers of vinyl copies of the album were released on Record Store Day 2014 (double album but pressed at 45 rpm), 10 days prior to the album's full release. These copies came with a single-sided 7" single of "Women of War".[1][5] The album was released in North America on April 29, 2014, as a digital download, digipak CD and 2LP vinyl as well as a deluxe edition on CD or vinyl which included a live CD and a 40-page hardback book.[6]
Commercial performance
The album peaked at number 23 on the US Billboard 200, making it the band's most successful album on that chart. In 2016 it was awarded a gold certification from the Independent Music Companies Association which indicated sales of at least 75,000 copies throughout Europe.[7] As of 2015, sales in the United States have exceeded 34,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[8]
Critical reception
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Indie Cindy received an average score of 62 based on 32 reviews; this indicates "generally favorable reviews".[9] Many critics dismissed the album as they believed it was more predictable then their earlier material, with many describing it as a solo album by singer Black Francis, due to the absence of former bassist Kim Deal. Jamie Atkins of Record Collector felt it had a "lack of personality" which was "most strikingly felt in Kim Deal’s absence.",[10] while Fact said it was "comfortingly familiar, consistent and enjoyable, as well as totally uninspired" and that it "plays just like one of Black’s solo efforts, but with better session players: good, yes, but never great."[11]
Chris Todd of The Line of Best Fit felt that "[a]ll the components are there, Joey Santiago’s guitar work is still impressive, Lovering’s drumming is still vigorous, but the problem is Black Francis himself. The compelling songwriting that completed Pixies is no longer there."[12] Phil Hebblethwaite of NME gave the album a positive review, while noting Deal's departure causing some songs to resemble Black Francis' solo work, he also believed "[h]er departure let Black Francis, guitarist Joey Santiago, drummer David Lovering and stand-in bassist Simon ‘Ding’ Archer loose, and, at its best, like on ‘Bagboy’, ‘Indie Cindy’ is free-sounding, adventurous and explosive."[13]
Stephen M. Deusner of Paste was dismissive of the album, saying "Indie Cindy represents either an act of masochistic bravado, a display of stark determination, or—and this is the worst option—an act of blindered ignorance" and felt "[w]hat makes Indie Cindy so egregious, so much worse than a simply bad album, is how much better it could have been."[14] Helen Brown of The Telegraph noted "[t]he result is not bad: though you miss the unpredictable blasts of raw hellfire from the cult classic Surfer Rosa era, the band find some gritty, grindy melodies in the bigger, slicker vein of 1991’s patchy Trompe Le Monde."[15]
Track listing
All songs written by Black Francis, except where noted.
Personnel
Pixies
- Black Francis – vocals, guitar, backing vocals on "Bagboy"
- David Lovering – drums, backing vocals on "Women of War" and "Bagboy"
- Joey Santiago – lead guitar
Additional musicians
- Ding (Simon "Ding" Archer) – bass guitar
- Jeremy Dubs – backing vocals
- Paz Lenchantin – bass guitar and backing vocals on deluxe edition[16] tracks and "Women of War"
Technical personnel
- Gil Norton – production, engineering, mixing
- Justin Pizzoferrato – additional engineering (Sonelab])
- Mike Stitsinger – additional engineering (The Autumn Den)
- Dan Austin – mixing
- Miles Wilson – mixing (live tracks)
- Vaughan Oliver – art direction, design
- Michael Speed – design assistance, xp illustration
- Ian Pollock – character illustration
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2014) | Position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] | 167 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[18] | 186 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Edition | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| International | 19 April 2014 | Limited edition vinyl exclusively for Record Store Day[1] | Pixiesmusic, PIAS |
| Japan | 23 April 2014 | CD, LP, DD, deluxe edition[19] | |
| International | 28 April 2014 | CD, LP, DD, deluxe[19] | |
| North America | 29 April 2014 | CD, LP, DD, deluxe[19] |
References
- ^ "Pixies To Release First Full Studio Album In More Than Two Decades – Record Store Day". Archived from the original on 2018-10-21. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
- ^ Steve Appleford (April 25, 2014). "The Pixies on 'Indie Cindy' and Recording Without Kim Deal". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
- ^ Sisario, Ben (3 September 2013). "Pixies Motor On, With New Bassist". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
- ^ Kitty Empire (April 26, 2014). "Pixies: Indie Cindy review – a 'craven cash-in'". The Guardian. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
- ^ Pixies 'Indie Cindy' Album Trailer – YouTube
- ^ "'Indie Cindy' New Album". Archived from the original on 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
- ^ "Independents Going Strong - Impala Sales Awards Clock Up Another 10M Units". IMPALA. 9 May 2016. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ "The Record: Unfinished Business". Capital Public Radio. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ "Reviews for Indie Cindy by Pixies". Metacritic. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
- ^ "Indie Cindy - Record Collector Magazine". Retrieved 2025-08-18.
- ^ Calvert, John. "Indie Cindy". Fact Magazine
- ^ "Pixies – Indie Cindy". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2025-08-18.
- ^ Daly, Rhian (2014-04-25). "Pixies - 'Indie Cindy'". NME. Retrieved 2025-08-18.
- ^ "Pixies: Indie Cindy". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 2025-08-18.
- ^ Brown, Helen (2014-04-25). "Pixies, Indie Cindy, review: 'the glory days are gone'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2025-08-18.
- ^ "pixieMusic – track listing for 'Live In The USA' 2014-March-24th". Archived from the original on 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2014". Ultratop. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
- ^ "Top de l'année Top Albums 2014" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
- ^ Guardian music (March 24, 2014). "Pixies confirm release of Indie Cindy, their first studio album in two decades". The Guardian. Retrieved May 10, 2014.