Bossanova (studio album)
by Pixies

I liked the surf music influence on much of this, e.g. "Ana" and "The Happening". Not as consistently brilliant as their previous two albums, but none of it was less than good. Listworthy, from 1001 albums you must hear.

From SomethingSpecial 07/01/2025 12:20

As quintessential as Doolittle and Surfer Rosa, Pixies' third album Bossanova contains some of their finest moments as a band, including Velouria, Is She Weird, Dig for Fire, and the dreamy closer, Havalina. While Doolittle was a landmark album that changed the landscape of music history, Bossanova is equally special as a time capsule of Pixies at their peak, carrying the melodic sensibilities of Doolittle, whilst building a whole new sound and identity.

Not on the same level as their 80s albums, but still very solid piece of alternative rock, Velouria and The Happening are amazing and tracks like All Over The World and Ana are interesting change of paste for them.

Similar in style and sound to their 2 earlier releases but the quality and consistency is significantly weaker in my opinion. This is mainly due to the increase in filler tracks on this album with so many songs feeling lacking in substance and like they could be skipped. They seem to be lacking a bit of the energy, punch and catchiness the songs on the previous releases had. There are some highlights on here still however, with tracks like Velouria, Is She Weird and Ana doing a great job of catching my interest. These songs amongst a few others make this record still worth checking out as there are some Pixies classics on here. Overall, this isn't their strongest album but has moments of brilliance in a record that is quite up and down.

Impossible for it to be as good as Doolittle but it's not far off

From Jboy56 02/14/2022 14:11

Yeah

From VictorVale 04/14/2021 15:52

Revolucionários do rock, esse álbum ecoa em todo anos 90's"

From teague 07/08/2020 01:34

Significantly weaker than Surfer Rosa and Doolittle. The intense sense of spontaneity is no longer present.

From buzzdainer 06/18/2020 16:46

Of the four full-length albums released by the Pixies during their heyday (here I'm not counting the classic EP Come on Pilgrim), Bossanova is the one with which I've spent the least amount of time. It's much more of a straightforward rock album than either Surfer Rosa or Doolittle, meaning it lacks some of the bizarre quirks that make those albums such unique listening experiences. But it's much more recognizably a true Pixies album than Trompe le Monde, which feels at times like a Frank Black solo project (albeit one that utilizes his strengths far better than most of his actual solo material). On “Havalina,” the song's narrator spots a javelina—an ornery wild pig common in the southwestern desert landscapes that seem to inspire much of the album—walking across a plain. The music is a slow dance between celestial bodies, heavenly but melancholic. He sees the boar, and in two short lines, the song is over. Songs on Bossanova are triumphs of minute, private epiphany: small, diamond-bright moments that flash in the listener's ear and fade away.

There's something special about this album. I like it almost as much as Doolittle and Surfer Rosa. The surf sound works for me, and I like that the songs are a little less aggressive. Gets overlooked for obvious reasons, but don't forget about this one, it's classic Pixies.