Kim Deal could return to the Pixies.

The "Debaser" group announced this summer how their bassist had quit last year and although Kim Shattuck has been drafted in to replace her on the road, drummer Dave Lovering insists Kim could return in future: "We left it open. It was sad and tough when she left but we wish her well and she has a welcome back if she'd like to."

Kim departed suddenly a week into a planned six-week recording session and the band found it very "distressing" working out what to do next. "When she said she was leaving, it was distressing and there was a lot of panic and we were like, 'What are we going to do?' We were in the studio and it was all paid for, so we're thinking, 'Do you break up the band?' We thought the correct thing is to go forward. So we did," Dave said.

Frontman Frank Black believes Kim quit because she felt uneasy at the group's decision to record new material. "I don't know what issues she had about doing new material but maybe it had nothing to do with us at all, but to do with her own life. Ultimately, it didn't matter what her reasons were," he told NME.