AllMovie

The band that inspired some of the most innovative rock acts of the new millennium reunites to conquer the globe 12 years after calling it quits, and filmmaker Steven Cantor is there to capture all the low-lights and highlights of their tentative reunion in a probing documentary exploring the re-birth of Gen-X alternative giants the Pixies. Plagued by personal problems from the beginning but driven to create such classic albums as Surfer Rosa and Doolittle, Frank Black, Kim Deal, Joey Santiago, and David Lovering smashed convention to deliver a wailing wall of chaotic but catchy riffs that, when combined with Black's disjointed lyrics and volatile vocals, gave birth to an entirely new sound. Initially self-destructing in 1993 and fragmenting into a variety of compelling offshoots, the Pixies weathered out the remainder of the decade and the first years of the new millennial crossover on their own before a series of jam sessions between the former bandmates led to a wildly successful 2004 North American tour.