Sat on the upper deck of his band's tour bus, Pixies frontman Black Francis shrugs his shoulders and screws up his face. This is, I've come to realize, how the man born Charles Thompson IV tends to field questions before, if and when the fancy takes him, forcefully making his point — a technique strangely reminiscent of the quiet/loud dynamic that characterizes his songs.
Guitarist Joey Santiago and drummer David Lovering are sat either side of Francis just a few hundred yards away from the inner-city Manchester festival arena that the band will later headline and it is, it must be said, quite intimidating, not least because the Pixies' pioneering reputation is inarguable.
The Pixies' first album in 23 years, "Indie Cindy," was released this year, a newsworthy-enough event even without the departure last June of bassist Kim Deal, founding member and "mascot" of the band, who quit just days into recording in south Wales. In Pixies world, it was a seismic event that, naturally enough, dominates our chat. Or so I thought.