The dark back story to a “dreamy” Pixies classic
Doolittle, the second studio album that cemented Pixies as one of the most important bands to shape the grunge movement, was a violent record. Delighting in almost biblical violence and scenes of torture, the album was one of the most timeless offerings to emerge from the indie rock scene of the 1990s, slashed eyeballs and all.
One of the songs that spoke to the band’s predilection for death was ‘Wave of Mutilation’, which touched on suicide in such a way that it stood out amongst a slew of surrealist songs covering similar territory. Of the two versions recorded, one was more downbeat, so fuzzed out, they called it the ‘U.K. Surf Version’. The other, which made it onto 1989’s Doolittle, retained the usual Pixies oddities, like the distinct sound of Kim Deal’s bass, but was faster and more hard-hitting.
Its opening line sets the tone for a total acceptance of defeat: “Cease to resist, giving my goodbye / Drive my car into the ocean / You’ll think I’m dead, but I sail away / On a wave of mutilation.” Frontman Black Francis revealed it was inspired by stories of Japanese businesses so worn down and disillusioned by the rat race they drove their families off of docks into the ocean to die.
In ‘Wave of Mutilation’, however, that folk tale is rewritten. The suicide attempt fails, and what follows is a dream-like adventure in the depths: “I’ve kissed mermaids / Rode the El Niño / Walked the sand with the crustaceans / Could find my way to Mariana.” The glimmer of hope it offers is backed by a soft reverb, but you’re never sure if it’s a dying delusion or if the man survives.
That’s what sets it apart from the unabashed violence of ‘Debaser’ and ‘Mr. Grieves’, because it’s a more empathetic look at despair. On that, Black said the song was “very un-Pixies” in tone. Talking to Music Radar, he explained: “It’s so gentle and dreamy, almost like a cloud in the sky passing over you. We did a fast version, and we did a slow version, although I don’t remember which one came first.”
He used drum mallets on his floor tom and the snare when they cut the song down, making the drums the “hardest-sounding element” on the faster version. On both, though, Black ensured the guitars were “nice and floating”, in keeping with the ethereal nature of the lyrics. The breezy, underwater-like quality was one of the triumphs of Gil Norton’s production, and Black loved the way the guitars would “drift around” the other instruments.
“It’s an easy song to play, but it’s very effective in the way it grabs people,” he explained. “It’s got a very odd, arresting spirit. There’s nothing else that sounds quite like it.”
