Trompe le Monde (French for "Fool the World") is the fourth studio album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released on September 23, 1991 on 4AD in the United Kingdom and on September 24, 1991, on Elektra Records in the United States. Recorded in Burbank, California, Paris and London, the album was produced by Gil Norton, and was the Pixies' final studio album before their break-up two years later. Additionally, it was the band's last album to feature founding bassist Kim Deal. A remastered release of the album, featuring additional songs "Brackish Boy" and "Punk Loop", was released on September 11, 2026.
Composition "Head On" is a cover version of the Jesus and Mary Chain track. It was released as a single and reached number 6 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S.A.
"U-Mass" is a song about the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where Black Francis met Joey Santiago before dropping out to form Pixies. In a 2001 interview, Santiago recalled that the original guitar riff was written while they were still enrolled at the school.Magnet Magazine interview
Tracks like "Planet of Sound," "Trompe le Monde," "Space (I Believe In)," and "Subbacultcha" recall a heavier metal leaning sound. Planet of Sound was composed in Drop D tuning.
Title The album name comes from the title of the first track, "Trompe le Monde", a French phrase () meaning "Fool the World". Unlike previous albums, the title of the album comes from the name of a song (rather than a song lyric), and is a play on the French phrase "Trompe-l'œil", a painting technique in which the painter fools the viewer into thinking objects presented are real, and also "trompe la mort", which means "daredevil" in French. On some versions of the CD, the title is erroneously printed as Tromp le Monde on the disc itself.
Critical reception
Michael Bonner of Lime Lizard described Trompe le Monde as "one of the best albums that you may very well ever hear" and "a strong contender for best album of the 20th century".
In a retrospective review, AllMusic writer Heather Phares noted the reduced role of Kim Deal, calling it "essentially Black Francis' solo debut". Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger named Trompe le Monde his ninth favorite album of the 1990s, describing it as "clean-lined sci-fi popmetal, perpetually underrated."
Track listing
Personnel
Pixies Black Francis – vocals, rhythm guitar Kim Deal – bass guitar, vocals David Lovering – drums Joey Santiago – lead guitar
Additional musicians Eric Drew Feldman – keyboards, synthetics Jef Feldman – tabla, doumbek ("Space (I Believe in)", "Lovely Day")
Technical Gil Norton – producer Steven Haigler – engineer Andrew Ballard – assistant engineer John McDonnell – assistant engineer Ken Gardner – assistant engineer Scott Blockland – assistant engineer Philipe Tousche – assistant engineer Vaughan Oliver / v23 – art direction, design Chris Bigg – design assistance Paul McMenamin – design assistance Simon Larbalestier – photography Steven Appleby – artwork (rockets) TPP Ltd. London – typesetting
Charts + Chart performance for Trompe le Monde Chart (1991) PeakpositionAustralian Albums (ARIA) 61 + 2021 chart performance for Trompe le Monde Chart (2021) Peakposition
Certifications and sales
References
Frank, Josh; Ganz, Caryn. Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies. Virgin Books, 2005. .
External links