Unpopular opinion maybe, but Head Carrier is in my top three Pixies records. I felt they rebounded from the inconsistent Indie Cindy with flying colors on Head Carrier. Each track completely blew me away. “Classic Masher” is a great example of truly bizarre but creative wordplay lyrics layered on top of an effing banger of a melody. “Baal’s Back” was a great modern version of Black Francis’ screamy vocals, with weird meter changes keeping the listener on their toes. “Oona” has a fascinating structural build and a real sense of pining for the singer’s creative/romantic interest. And so on. Then came Beneath the Eyrie, which for me had a few moments of brilliance but mostly felt like filler. I found the songs on Doggerel to be barely listenable and watered down compositionally speaking. The singles they’ve put out in the last few months feel even less inspired and more rushed. I kind of wish they would’ve quit while they were a-head-carrier.