Last month, Pixies announced their ninth studio album, The Night the Zombies Came, marking the band’s fifth studio release since they reunited in 2004. Now, in a new interview, they explained that one of the things inspiring them to create new music is the fact that they “don’t want to be a Pixies cover band.”

The comment was made by guitarist Joey Santiago in the band’s new interview with MOJO. Alluding to their continued output over the years, he said, “Fans are happy to hear old stuff, but we’re creative people… We don’t want to be a Pixies cover band.”

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Expanding on that, drummer David Lovering said, “We re-formed in 2004 and we’re 20 years into it. It [has been] longer now than we were together initially. We’re still doing it and we feel we’re still viable… it’s what we do: ‘Wash, Rinse, Repeat!’”

It’s true — Pixies’ original run from 1986 to 1993 only lasted seven years, compared to the 20 years they’ve been reunited. In the time since, the band parted ways with original bassist Kim Deal, and released a number of studio albums, including 2016’s Head Carrier, which included one of their most-streamed songs, “All I Think About Now.”

Now, The Night the Zombies Came is due on October 25th via BMG, and will feature contributions from their new bassist, Emma Richardson, formerly of Band of Skulls, who replaced Paz Lenchantin earlier this year.

Up next, Pixies are booked for a handful of European dates, followed by a run of Australian shows with Pearl Jam (get tickets). Additionally, in 2025, frontman Black Francis, a.k.a. Frank Black, will hit the road for a North American tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of his sophomore solo album, Teenager of the Year (get tickets).