Pixies – ‘Complete B-Sides 1988-97’ album review: Alt-rock off-cuts repackaged for 2026
If you are in a band like Pixies, whose glory days passed long ago and you are wondering how to generate some extra revenue, take a page from the music industry playbook and release a compilation of songs that weren’t good enough to see mainstream releases decades ago, around the time when they were first recorded.
The Skinny: Cynical introductions aside, this new edition of Pixies’ collected B-sides from 1988 up to 1997 is part of a broader trend within the modern music industry. Record Store Day, for instance, is now plagued with countless releases and reissues of ‘demo’ recordings, B-side compilations, and deluxe editions completed with a handful of live recordings, but the releases aren’t limited entirely to that date in April.
While these releases might be targeted towards the devoted collectors and diehard fans of those groups – Pixies, in this case – they do have an air of cash-in about them.
Onto the content of the compilation itself, though, the tracklisting of Complete B-Sides is an expectedly mixed bag. While there are certainly some solid efforts included, with tracks like ‘River Euphrates’ and ‘Into the White’, among others, harking back to the beloved magic of Pixies’ earlier years, there is also a lot of filler. After all, these B-sides were only ever meant to be a bonus accompaniment to the, by and large, superior A-sides. As such, the weaker efforts on the album are reduced to the musical crime of being ‘interesting’.
It is interesting, for instance, to hear Black Francis’ take on ‘In Heaven (Lady In The Radiator Song)’ from David Lynch’s legendary Eraserhead, and it is similarly interesting to hear them rip off the intro from The Stooges’ ‘I Got A Right’, but they aren’t songs that lend themselves naturally to repeated listens. They are interesting, but not hugely enjoyable – unless you happen to be a Pixies superfan.
For those superfans, though, this album is nothing new, either. It was way back in 2001 when these B-sides were first packaged together, and although this new 4AD reissue marks the first time they have all been available on vinyl together, with added live tracks and admittedly stellar remastering from the original analogue tapes, it likely doesn’t do enough to lure in the casual listener.
Standout Track: ‘Into the White’
The Verdict: If Complete B-Sides: 1988-97 shows anything at all, it is just how essential Kim Deal was to Pixies’ sound during those early years, and the sharp drop off in quality that has been spurred on by her departure. Aside from that, there is little to be gained from this collection of off-cuts that Pixies’ devotees haven’t already dissected.
Release Date: June 26th, 2026 | Producers: Gil Norton, Gary Smith, and Pixies | Label: 4AD
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