Review

Is there a more paradigmatic Pixies song title than "Weird at My School"? "My father lives in the radio/And I live right here in my school," a phased-in Black Francis announces, before the band does a weird little acoustic-skiffle bunnyhop. They zig, they zag and then it's over, nothing resolved. Welcome to the Pixies' B-sides, which frequently sound even more willful than the stuff that made it onto the albums, and sometimes just as good. Are you a fan of Joey Santiago's nutzoid guitar? The first two tracks on this compendium, "River Euphrates" and a live "Vamos," have you covered. Love Kim Deal's Peppermint Patty-eating-cherry-sours voice? You should get acquainted with the deadpan rave-up "Into the White"; ditto the duet between Francis and Deal on a charming cover of Neil Young's "Winterlong." Sometimes these are complete goofs (the crooked "Bailey's Walk"), or seemingly drift off in mid-song, unfinished ("The Thing") or both ("Dancing the Manta Ray"). But that's part of the general looseness on display — the most appealing thing about Complete B-Sides as a whole, and certainly about its best tracks. The prime exception: "Wave of Mutilation (U.K. Surf Version)," such a fan (and band) favorite that the Pixies dug it out for the first concert of their 2004 reunion.