There’s something magical in the air tonight. It’s a roasting hot evening in the capital at one of the most famous musical venues in the country (if not the world) and alternative rock icons Pixies are in town. The first of two sold out nights at the iconic Royal Albert Hall reaffirm the bands importance, influence and necessity to keep going.
Pixies @ Royal Albert Hall
“Good evening London, how the fuck are we feeling” Tom Rhodes screams into a slowly filling hall at 19:30. “We’re gunna have a fucking party tonight” as GANS run through a blistering 30 minute set, leaving the crowd primed and ready for the main event. Growing up in working class areas of the Black Country to parents who worked in factories and mills Euan Woodman (drums, vocals) and Rhodes (bass, vocals) knew that they didn’t want to get locked in to their surroundings. They released their debut album GOOD FOR THE SOUL in September of last year via Peter Doherty’s Strap Originals label. Produced by Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, Amyl & The Sniffers) it quickly became a personal favourite of mine from 2025. They’ve toured extensively throughout the last 18 months including supporting Big Special, Babyshambles and are midway through a run of shows supporting Pixies this spring.
A duo of borderless noise-makers with intensity at the core of what they do, they crash through IN TIME, IT’S JUST LIFE and I THINK I LIKE YOU with a third musician in tow, moving between saxophone and flute with ease. Yes you might be questioning whether bass, drums and flute go together and I can tell you it absolutely does. GANS force you to take notice. Its cacophony; a wall of sound that you’ll feel deep in your core. Introducing new song STEP-PSYCHOSIS and finishing with THIS PRODUCT, in which drummer Woodman steps into the crowd and wades through the side stalls – with a wired mic no less, before becoming shirtless and throwing some shapes that Ian Curtis would have been proud of.
After half an hour to recover and frankly try to return to a semi comfortable temperature in the foyer, at 20:30 Pixies frontman Black Francis leads out the band to a thunderous reception in this iconic auditorium. He comes to the front of the stage, raises a mug of something to sooth the voice and welcomes the London crowd. “Hello to old friends, hello to new ones. Let’s get to it.” Beginning with The Holiday Song which they soon had to stop due to technical issues. It appears that there was a problem with the tuning, or the key they were playing in. Within a matter of seconds they shuffled into a blistering rendition of Nimrod’s Son from the same record.
Francis goes from acoustic to electric guitar in twenty minute segments with Gouge Away from 1989’s Doolittle turning things heavier. It’s like there’s a push and pull to their set; much like their approach to song structure, there are quiet moments, there are loud moments. Moments that tease you in and moments that blow you away. Songs to dance to, songs to raise your fits and scream. David Lovering on drums helps to drive that momentum with ease throughout the set.
Isla de Encanta and Vamos, two songs that both feature large portions sung in Spanish, drawing on Francis’s experiences of spending six months in Puerto Rico whose nickname, La Isla del Encanto means “isle of enchantment”. During the latter’s extended and frantic guitar solo, Joey Santiago forcibly shakes his instrument to get as much feedback out and into the room as possible whilst also playing the guitar with this flat cap. A rare moment of impulsiveness and unabashed chaotic improv that was great to behold.
Cactus is about as grungey as they got. Legendary California producer, the late Steve Albini, worked on this track and produced Pixies’ debut album Surfer Rosa. It was such an important and catalyst for so many; a real turning point in modern rock music. Nirvana (who recruited Albini to mix and produce In Utero), Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer have all cited Pixies as inspiration, whilst for many, seeing Kim Deal play such an important role musically in what was such a male dominated scene, paved the way for artists like PJ Harvey, Hole, Sleater-Kinney. Without Pixies, there’d be no Olivia Rodrigo.
With Deal leaving the band in late 2012, ex-Band Of Skulls Emma Richardson is the latest to take on the responsibility of performing some of the most iconic bassline’s in rock history. She more than holds her own whilst her additional vocals throughout the night on some of the bands biggest hits feels just right. Richardson leads the vocals on cult favourite In Heaven (The Lady in the Radiator Song); a cover of the song sung by a character known as “The Lady in the Radiator” in David Lynch’s surrealist horror film Eraserhead.
The band as a whole looks so comfortable. Playing a sold out show to five and a half thousand people is effortless. And this swagger makes the crowd feel they’re in safe hands. The seductive slow-jam Hey and alien love song Velouria got hundreds of people to their feet and groove. The demographics of the audience are clear. Those that grew up with them in the late ’80s and early ’90s and their now young adolescent children. As someone in their mid 30’s I felt like I was in the minority but no less happy to see the next generation being schooled and what a great lesson to have to sit through.
Whether being handed down an exquisate music taste from your parents or seeing a viral song on Tiktok and checking them out, it ultimately doesn’t matter as it’s a joyous night where all ages came to sing, dance and occasionally mosh. Both Wave Of Mutilation and the UK Surf version – a slower arrangement to the original and B-side to the single, Here Comes Your Man – are strong singalong moments, the latter feels like a reprise and a pallette cleanser before beginning probably the strongest sequences of the night: Where Is My Mind?, Bone Machine and Debaser, all sung to the rafters by the sold out crowd. Songs that have been performed hundreds of times by the band but felt no more relevant, no more essential than tonight.
Ending with early cuts Tame and Into The White rounding off a phenemonel 95 minute set spanning their whole career. Their songs sound as immediate as when they were recorded several decades ago. Tonight is a celebration of your favourite band’s favourite band. Fourty years on, green shoots are still being spotted in rock that can be directly traced back to this alternative band from Boston. But they’re not giving up just yet.
Live review of Pixies @ Royal Albert Hall, London by Chris Lambert on 28th May 2026. Photography by Nick Allan.
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