Charles ‘Black Francis’ Thompson, Joey Santiago, Kim Deal and David Lovering formed the Pixies in Boston in 1986, enjoying only moderate success. Six years later, they split amid acrimony and anger. In the time since, despite little communication with one another, they have become one of the most influential bands of all time.

During their time together, they released five albums and a number of singles. But as their success grew, so too did the personal and creative tension in the band. The problems came to a head in 1992 when Charles announced on BBC’s Radio 5 Live that the Pixies were disbanding – he hadn’t told the rest of the band. “You put four people in the same room for five years, there’s going to be tension.”

The break-up hit them hard. Drummer David Lovering admits: “I was in the worst place in the world.” After the split, he turned his back on music altogether in favour of other hobbies, namely metal detecting and magic. Lead guitarist Joey Santiago also struggled to adapt, scoring documentaries and performing in shopping malls: “I was eeking it out.” Bassist Kim Deal formed The Breeders with her sister Kelley, however, drug and alcohol addiction continued to plague her. It was Charles who perhaps enjoyed the most post-Pixies success as part of Frank Black and the Catholics, though even he could not escape his past: “Everything I do is overshadowed by this other band.”

In 2004, to the surprise of many, including the band themselves, the Pixies decided to reform. Charting the reunion from the rehearsal room to the stage, loudQUIETloud follows the band as they embark on a ‘sell-out’ tour that would go on to become a huge critical and commercial success. The film opens with their haunting anthem Where Is My Mind?, and features a host of tracks from the tour including U Mass, Gouge Away, Wave of Mutilation and Nimrod’s Son – on the strength of these, claims they influenced a generation of bands appear justified.

However, despite appearing to have put their problems behind them, the Pixies were still in turmoil; there is a melancholy that permeates the film. Off stage they barely acknowledge each other, and when they do it’s often uncomfortable, stifled and perfunctory. Preferring to busy themselves with mobile phones, ipods, anything at hand, they go to great lengths to avoid talking to one another. It takes a drug-fuelled breakdown on stage for the band to finally confront David about his substance abuse in one of the film’s most poignant moments..

The silences in loudQUIETloud ring out more deafeningly than the music ever could. But the loud-quiet-loud dynamic that seems inextricably linked to everything they do ensures the silences are punctuated with warm, tender, ‘loud’ moments that remind you why they are doing this: Kim relying on a ipod to remind her how to play Hey; Joey wishing his children goodnight via a webcam; David urging the Brixton Academy crowd to wave to his terminally ill father; Charles encouraging his partner’s son to stroke a starfish at an aquarium; and the band’s childlike excitement as they take to the stage together for the first time in over a decade.

Ultimately, loudQUIETloud is an intimate and affectionate look at the alt-rock pioneers who, despite being one of the most important bands of the 20th century, are refreshingly humble and self-deprecating. Success goes to your head: moderate success, not so much.