Pixies are now on their fourth bassist. Kim Deal left the legendary alt-rock band in 2013, and the late Muffs leader Kim Shattuck briefly took her place. In 2014, Paz Lenchantin, best known for her time in A Perfect Circle, took over as Pixies’ new bassist, and she became a full member of the band and played that role for a decade. Yesterday, the band announced a European tour, and they also said that Lenchantin was out of the band. Band Of Skulls’ Emma Richardson is taking her place, and Lenchantin says that this was not her decision.

When Pixies announced Paz Lenchantin’s departure, they said warm things about her on social media: “La la love you. We’re grateful for Paz’s many contributions, and wish her all the very best going forward.” In an email to Rolling Stone, Lenchantin says that her departure from the band came as a “surprise” to her: “It has been a dream of dreams these past 10 years to have been accepted as a Pixie by the band and by fans and an honor to have contributed to the Pixies legacy. My departure is a bit of a surprise to me as it is to many, but it looks like they have a solid plan figured out which in turn has pushed me to move onwards onto new projects that I am excited about.”

If Pixies really kicked Paz Lenchantin out of the band, it wouldn’t exactly be out of character for them. When Pixies first broke up in 1993, frontman Black Francis, also known as Frank Black, famously informed his bandmates Kim Deal and David Lovering via fax. When Kim Shattuck was fired from the group in 2013, she wrote that she was “super disappointed” about it. Paz Lenchantin’s departure appears more cordial, but it certainly fits the pattern.