To hear lead guitarist Joey Santiago tell it now, the Pixies were in a no-win situation in 2013.

After nearly a decade reunited, the seminal indie rock band released “EP1,” giving fans their first taste of new Pixies music since 1991’s “Trompe Le Monde” album (other than one-off single “Bam Thwock,” which appeared shortly after the band reunited in 2004). Two things were immediately apparent about the EP and its two follow-ups, which were compiled into the band’s fifth album, “Indie Cindy,” in 2014. Founding bassist and backing vocalist Kim Deal was nowhere to be heard; and perhaps because of that, the music seemed to hew closer to frontman Black Francis’ solo excursions under the name Frank Black than the manic, intense blasts found on the band’s classic ’80s and early ’90s records.

“With ‘Indie Cindy,’ we wanted it to be a departure — that’s the thing,” Santiago said from Los Angeles during an interview with GO! Magazine conducted in mid-June, before the band’s summer tour with Weezer began. The Pixies — sans Weezer — will return to Les Schwab Amphitheater on Sunday.

“I think we were gonna get nailed either way — if it was gonna sound like the Pixies or if they were gonna venture on forward a little bit. We took the latter risk, more adventure, and then this time around we got to relish and embrace what we are, the Pixies. And it’s like, whoa, hey, it’s not bad being the Pixies.”

Santiago was referring to 2016’s “Head Carrier,” the band’s second “reunion” album and first with new bassist Paz Lenchantin, known for her work with A Perfect Circle. Though more polished than albums such as “Surfer Rosa” or “Doolittle,” “Head Carrier” finds the band re-embracing the squalling guitars, shrieking vocals and quiet-loud dynamics that defined a decade-plus of alternative rock.

When the Pixies last played Bend in 2004, the reunion — which at the time still included Deal and was a surprise to most fans considering the acrimonious split in 1993 — had just begun.

“When we played Bend, my son was just born the day before,” Santiago said. “I was home — I flew home in between dates — and my wife at the time was getting due. So I flew home, waved hello to the little boy, waved goodbye and then I met him back in New York a few weeks later.”

With Lenchantin now firmly ensconced in the lineup and the band reveling in its sound, the Pixies feels like a working band again to its members.

“I don’t think it’s a reunion anymore,” Santiago said. “I honestly don’t even remember that we took a break at this point, I really don’t now that I think about it. Like, was there even a time we broke up? It’s been so long.”

Santiago said the band’s chemistry with Lenchantin, a multi-instrumentalist who has also introduced fiddle to some of the band’s acoustic radio appearances, was “pretty damn immediate.” But he still recognizes that for some fans, it’s a no-deal situation without Deal, who is busy with The Breeders’ first album in a decade, “All Nerve.”

The situation is addressed on the “Head Carrier” track “All I Think About Now,” a thank-you note to Deal sung, fittingly enough, by Lenchantin.

“When one member leaves, it’s very — it’s like for them a parent leaving,” Santiago said. “I get it, I totally get it. It’s not gonna be the same for me if Keith Richards leaves (The Rolling Stones) or something like that, or you know, Bill Wyman leaving. That might affect (the band) a little in that kind of old-school way. I don’t know. People can think what they want. We’re not forcing them to go to the show or anything.”

The two camps have not been in touch since Deal split in 2012 — but according to Santiago, that wouldn’t have been unusual when she was in the band.

“We’re in our little world,” he said. “During this last break, I didn’t talk to (drummer) David (Lovering) once. It’s normal. There aren’t any hard feelings at all; we just haven’t been in touch with each other. There’d be nothing to talk about; it would be awkward.”

The relationship between Deal and primary songwriter Francis, born Charles Thompson, was legendarily tense in the band’s heyday, with Deal’s songwriting and singing contributions slowly tapering off during the quartet’s original, seven-year run. But the basis of the band’s sound goes back to Santiago and Francis, who met as students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the early ’80s and formed the Pixies together in 1986. Francis’ songs, fraught with religious imagery, science-fiction themes and dark pop culture references, went hand-in-hand with Santiago’s often dissonant, noisy leads.

“I don’t think I would have maybe locked in and did this style without meeting him, I really don’t think so,” Santiago said. “It’s gonna be a rare person to work with in this capacity. It just feels natural; it does feel natural to work with him in this way. He’s got a lot of patience, and he’s got a lot of trust, so I like that. He never worries. I worry — I gotta stop doing that. He’s always like, ‘Ah, don’t worry about it, you’ll come up with something.’”

The guitarist, who also played on a number of Frank Black albums in the ’90s and 2000s, admitted to still feeling pressure in the studio today. He said the band is already working on new material and could be back in the studio as soon as November.

“It seems like I should be able to just, like, nail it, and sometimes I do, but when I don’t, it’s frustrating,” he said. “I just gotta remind myself it’s a process. It’s nothing like — we’re writing it, nothing’s coming down at us written. It’s just from moment to moment. For some odd reason, I think I just tend to concentrate on the bad moments, sometimes, which is a good thing I think. It just feels like the clock’s ticking — all right, you’re next, let’s go, the studio’s gonna shut their doors soon — that kind of feel.”