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Trompe le Monde (1991)

Where the lyrics of Trompe le Monde take you, and where it was really made.

The album takes its title from a song rather than a lyric, and some CD copies misprint it as 'Tromp le Monde' on the disc itself.

Key places

Recorded at Pacifique in Burbank (1991)

Recording site Pacifique Recording Studios — The album was recorded in Burbank, California, and Pacifique is listed among the Burbank recording locations. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Studio des Dames in Paris (1991)

Recording site Pathé Marconi studios — Studio des Dames in Paris is a recording location, and Black Francis linked the title to a phrase he heard while recording there. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Blackwing in London (1991)

Recording site Blackwing Studios — Blackwing in London is one of the four recording locations, and the album was mixed at Master Rock in London. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Trompe le Monde: fourth studio album by the American alternative rock band Pixies
• Released 23 September 1991 in the UK on 4AD, and 24 September 1991 in the US on Elektra Records
• Produced by Gil Norton
• Final studio album before the band broke up two years later
• Last album to feature founding bassist Kim Deal

Background

• The title is French for 'Fool the World'
• Unlike earlier albums, the title comes from the name of a song rather than a song lyric
• The title plays on 'trompe-l'oeil', a painting technique that fools the viewer, and on 'trompe la mort', French for daredevil
• Black Francis said the album was meant to be the band's punk rock record, after the surf rock of Bossanova, released a year earlier
• 'Head On' is a cover of a Jesus and Mary Chain track, released as a single
• 'U-Mass' is about the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where Black Francis met Joey Santiago before dropping out to form Pixies
• 'Planet of Sound' was composed in Drop D tuning, part of the heavier metal-leaning sound on the album

Recording

• Recorded in Burbank, California, Paris and London
• Recording locations: Master Control and Pacifique in Burbank, Studio Des Dames in Paris, Blackwing in London
• Mixed at Master Rock, London
• Engineer credit: Steven Haigler

Cover

• Art direction and album design by Vaughan Oliver / v23
• Photography by Simon Larbalestier

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1986.
• Original lineup: Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim Deal (bass, vocals), David Lovering (drums).
• Named after a word Santiago picked randomly from a dictionary.

Members

• Francis is the primary songwriter; his surreal lyrics cover extraterrestrials, incest and biblical violence.
• Deal left in 2012; Kim Shattuck and then Paz Lenchantin followed; Lenchantin became a full member in 2016.
• In 2024 Lenchantin was replaced by Emma Richardson, formerly of Band of Skulls.

Career

• Debut mini-LP Come On Pilgrim (1987), followed by Surfer Rosa (1988), Doolittle (1989), Bossanova (1990) and Trompe le Monde (1991).
• Disbanded in 1993 after modest US success, but gained more popularity in the UK and Europe.
• Reunited in 2004 with sold-out world tours; released The Night the Zombies Came in 2024.
• Known for extreme loud-quiet-loud dynamics blending surf rock and punk rock; influenced Nirvana, Radiohead, Weezer and others.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critical reception was not as strong as for the band's earlier albums

Reappraisal

• AllMusic writer Heather Phares wrote in a retrospective review that Kim Deal's role was reduced, calling the album essentially Black Francis' solo debut
• Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger named the album his ninth favorite of the 1990s, describing it as clean-lined sci-fi popmetal, perpetually underrated

Records

• 'Head On' single reached number 6 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S.A.
• Released in the UK on 4AD and in the US on Elektra Records
• The album was the band's last studio release before the break-up

Sources: fr.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title comes from a song name, which was a change from the band's earlier albums that took titles from lyric lines.
• On some versions of the CD, the title is erroneously printed as Tromp le Monde on the disc itself.
• Black Francis is said to have heard the French phrase 'trompe la mort' while recording at Studio Des Dames in Paris.
• 'Planet of Sound' was composed in Drop D tuning.
• 'U-Mass' is about the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where Black Francis and Joey Santiago met.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

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