I rather like the way the Pixies went about releasing this new material. Dosed out via slow drip, it gave us time to digest and get over the fact that Kim Deal had quit the band as well as adjust to the cleaner modern production. They are releasing EP3 on its own as well as part of the LP Indie Cindy, so if you've been keeping up you have the full length as the 3 EPs added together, or if you haven't been following the EPs you can just buy the full-length and have them all at once. That is, after I convince you that yes, despite what the cranky bastards over at Pitchfork will tell you, you should pick this up.

I will focus on the EP3 songs and my thoughts of the LP as a singular statement of the Pixies Mach II (or is it Mach III? They've been through a few bass players in the past year). If you'd like a more in-depth synopsis of the four EP1 songs go here. To read up on EP2, go here.

The EP3 tracks are the previously-released "Bagboy" and the truly new "Silver Snail", "Ring the Bell" and "Jaime Bravo". "Bagboy" has never done anything for me, and set my standards low prior to EP1 (which helped the EP surpass these low, low expectations). It also has an odd Kim Deal impression by studio bassist Ding. He's a guy. Yeah. "Ring the Bell" is a solid jam, a twinkly toe-tapper with Frank Black falsetto vox in the chorus. "Jaime Bravo" is similar in style to "Ring the Bell" frankly, and while it is nice enough, it wasn't the best choice for the album closer.

Lots of these songs have grown on me a bunch. I straight-up LOVE "Magdalena," "Another Toe in the Ocean" and "Blue-Eyed Hexe," plus "Indie Cindy" and "Andro Queen" are cool as well and the production has a great spacey vibe not far from the sound of Bossanova, just updated. People need to get the fuck over the changes in the Pixies and just listen to the songs. Judge them based on their own merits. While there are weak tracks--the try-hard "Bagboy", chugga chugga "What Goes Boom" (though I do like the chorus), and the kinda-boring "Silver Snail"-- the good songs by far outnumber them and are a more than welcome additions to the Pixies' catalog. Personally, I prefer Indie Cindy to Trompe Le Monde believe it or not.

Give Indie Cindy an honest listen. If you have to, just pretend it's the new project of Frank Black, Joey Santiago and David Loverling. They called it Pixies and maaaybe they would have been better off taking a new name, but they knew you were more likely to listen if it had that famous brand stamped on it. Just listen to it. The songs are good, and since my 5 out of 10 on my EP1 review, even those tunes have grown on me. Give it a chance, folks. You'll thank me later.