As the id-addled vocalist of college rock favorites the Pixies, Black Francis (nee Charles Thompson) sang and screamed over arty punk that alternated between subdued verses and volcano eruption choruses. Inverting his stage name to Frank Black when the group broke up, the singer released two albums of visionary new wave inspired rock that anticipated the quirkfests and Brian Wilson fetishes of 90’s indie rock before releasing a series of weak, straightforward releases over the last ten years.
But even as the current Pixies reunion tours behind the same old songs, he is writing his most (un)conventionally “Pixies-like” material since the 80’s. With Bluefinger, Black is returning not only to his old stage name, but to the style, if not exactly the quality, of classics like “Debaser” and “Dig for Fire.” After a decade of contentment with bar punk clichés, the off kilter “Threshold Apprehension” is a pure joy to hear, revisiting the bull in a china shop aesthetics that made Doolittle so thrilling. “Lolita” contains a power pop hookfest pared down to bass and guitar monochrome while “Tight Black Rubber” recalls the menacing obsessions of Black’s early work, even down to the warped inclusion of “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” But as much as his guitar work has improved, Joey Santiago’s pyrotechnic leads, and the energy they brought to Black’s material, are still missed. Maybe that’s why it took so long for him to return to the kinetic sound of his old band: Black Francis has released his best solo album in 13 years and it is still in the Pixies’ long shadow.
7.5 Stars
www.blackfrancis.net
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