These days a new Frank Black record isn't something to get particularly excited about. Just about every year the guy puts out a record, and honestly none of them have been really exceptional since 1994's Teenager of the Year (I do enjoy Dog in the Sand quite a bit though.) So what makes this upcoming recordof his (entitled Bluefinger) any different? Well for one it's being released under the Black Francis moniker, the first time in his career he's done that. The reasoning behind it hasn't been revealed, yet some speculate that these are the songs he had written for the now scrapped Pixies reunion record. That wouldn't be too surprising has the album has a feel that's much more on the lines of Trompe Le Monde and his first two solo records rather than the "Memphis" sound on his more recent solo affairs. Bluefinger is a bit of a retread back into the prime era of Frank Black, and rather seeming like an artist trying to recapture his past glory, it's more of an artist rediscovering himself and what he does best. That said it's his best record in a long time.
My favorite song on it is called "You Can't Break a Heart and Have It" and in addition to being one of his catchiest songs in recent memory, it has a definitive Black Francis scream that I don't believe I've heard to such an extent since "U-Mass" or "The Sad Punk" off of Trompe Le Monde. This really rocks. Nice job Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV.
Black Francis - You Can't Break a Heart and Have It
As a bonus here's a video of the him on Vinyl Justice, a sketch from the UK show Adam & Joe. It's absolutely hilarious. It features impromptu versions of The Cure's "The Lovecats", Donovan's "There is a Mountain," and Roxy Music's "Dance Away." Pretty much one of the best things you can find on YouTube.
Pre-order Black Francis - Bluefinger (though i'd wait until it gets a US label)
2 comments:
thanks for this.
i'm surprised at the lack of hype for this album.
-hick
yeah, thanks a lot : )
that's the first time i've heard of this album, thought there's going to be a longer break as 'fast man raider man' was such a load of material but this looks like sth different.
somehow i'd love to hear it with kim on the backing vocals, as it's much more pixie-ish than anything he's recorded solo. missed the srceaming:>
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