frank black and the catholics

[glowbelly]

thank you, protoclown, for talking this band up so much and for singing the headache song with me in your car. i went and saw them live last night and they were brilliant...just like you said they were.

[Ronnie Raygun]

Don't get Spad started.

[Protoclown]

I just now saw this!! Yes, they are fucking awesome live! I saw them a couple months back and they were fantastic. They are definitely one of my favorite bands ever.

[Drew Katsikas]

Boo yah, I hope you guys know who the bassist and drummer for his band are! Jersey and Harris Polaris! (AKA Dave and Spot) None other than the bassist and drummer for Polaris, the Band that lives in your television. They did the theme song for pete and pete, and can be seen jamming on the wrigley's front yard, and that Italian lady's garage in the hard day's pete episode. I highly reccomend picking up Music from the adventures of pete and pete, or the work of any other band who played in the show. A short list of musicans who played or appeared on the show: apples in stereo, poi dog pondering, marshall crenshaw, syd straw, polaris, miracle legion, iggy pop, magnetic feilds, and many others!

[crash0814]

I haven't listened to a single Frank Black song, which is kinda weird, being the huge Pixies fan that I am. Do his solo ablums sound like the Pixies?

[Protoclown]

No, it's pretty different stuff. Everyone I asked about it told me not to bother with it, because it sucked. I'm glad I didn't listen to them, because I've found that I like a lot of his solo stuff just as much as the Pixies.

His first three solo albums (Frank Black, Teenager of the Year, and The Cult of Ray) sound more like the Pixies than his later work, but you still won't be able to fool yourself into thinking it's the old band playing. Of those three, I think "Teenager" is the best, but with 22 songs, it's kind of overwhelming at first. It took me quite a few listens before I really started distinguishing the songs from one another and remembering which was which. "Cult" is definitely the weakest of the three, but it's still got some gems on it.

If you want some sample songs to download from this period, try:

Los Angeles, I Heard Ramona Sing, Speedy Marie, Headache, Ole Mulholland, Big Red, Men in Black, I Don't Want to Hurt You (Every Single Time).

He has five other albums with his new band, The Catholics, (Frank Black and the Catholics, Pistolero, Dog in the Sand, Black Letter Days, and Devil's Workshop...and another album coming out in September called "Show Me Your Tears"). This is the material that sounds absolutely NOTHING like the Pixies, but I think it's his best work since the band broke up. It progresses from what I think of as "western rock" to leaning more towards a country sound on the later albums. You won't find any of the insane experimental stuff that the Pixies were all about here. It's mostly pretty straightforward, solid rock. But it's VERY well written rock, and with a really nostalgic feel to it.

For a good sampling try:

All My Ghosts, Do You Feel Bad About It?, Tiny Heart, Billy Radcliffe, St. Francis Dam Disaster (a BEAUTIFUL acoustic song, if nothing else you MUST hear this one), Robert Onion, Bullet, Cold Heart of Stone, Jane the Queen of Love, Velvety (which was done by the Pixies as an instrumental, he finally added lyrics), Modern Age.

If you're a huge Pixies fan, you really owe it to yourself to check this stuff out. I'd place it EASILY on equal level with their work, and I find that I listen to Frank Black's solo stuff more than the Pixies (though that's probably because there's simply more of it).

After you hear some of this stuff, let me know what you think. I'm curious to know. It's vastly different, so it might not be your cup of tea. I certainly hope you enjoy it though.