Pixies new bassist is a ''good screamer''.

The iconic 'Caribou' band have recruited new member Kim Shattuck in place of Kim Deal, who left at the end of last year, and lead singer Frank Black likes the effort she puts into her backing vocal parts.

He told the Los Angeles Times newspaper: ''I really like that she's a good screamer.

''And even though we weren't looking for a female vocalist who knows how to scream, we've got new material coming up and new songs to write, etc, and she is going to be asked to scream.''

The band have just released their first new songs since 1991, 'EP-1', and Frank - real name Charles Thompson - admits it took for him to issue an ultimatum to the rest of the band saying he would quit if they didn't head back to the studio, although it backfired.

He explained: ''Somebody in the band called my bluff, and said, 'Fine, we'll cancel the tour. No problem.' I tried to strong-arm the process, and that was my mistake, and I admit that.''

A little while later Frank says he ''found the zone that I felt like was a Pixies head space,'' and wrote new material which ''really started to get good reactions'' from Joey Santiago and David Lovering, who complete the band.

He added: ''It's corny to say it, but it's all about the music. That's why we got into this. This isn't about being accepted or being validated or dealing with my demigod status that I have amongst my fans.''