The Pixies – Bossanova and Trompe le Monde (1990–1992)
A Pixies ticket from October 1, 1990
In 1990, all members of the group except for Deal moved to Los Angeles. Lovering stated that he, Santiago, and Francis moved there “because the recording studio was there”. Unlike previous recordings, the band had little time to practice beforehand, and Black Francis wrote much of the album in the studio. Featuring the singles “Velouria” and “Dig for Fire“, Bossanova reached number 70 in the United States. In contrast, the album peaked at number three in the United Kingdom. Also in 1990, the Pixies released a cover of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band’s “Born in Chicago” on the compilation album Rubáiyát: Elektra’s 40th Anniversary.
The band continued to tour and released Trompe le Monde in 1991, their final album before their break-up. The album included “U-Mass”, which has been described as being about college apathy, and whose guitar riff was written years before at the University of Massachusetts before Francis and Santiago dropped out. The album also featured a cover of “Head On” by the Jesus and Mary Chain. Also that year, the band contributed a cover of “I Can’t Forget” to the Leonard Cohentribute albumI’m Your Fan, and began an international tour on which they played stadiums in Europe and smaller venues in the United States. They then signed to be the support act of U2 on the lucrative US leg of the Zoo TV Tour in 1992. Tensions rose among band members, and at the end of the year, the Pixies went on sabbatical and focused on separate projects.
