No sooner had the last crashing chords of The Pixies faded into silence, than their frontman, Black Francis, changed his name yet again--this time, to Frank Black--and settled into eccentric musical middle-age. An eponymous solo album saw him shrug off much of his previous band's legacy --his tone seemed more playful, though hardly any less perverse--and he followed it a year later with this sprawling (22 songs!) collection, its lyrics touching upon all his familiar obsessions, his tone ranging from the genuinely deranged to the self-consciously weird. Inevitably, given the sheer volume of material here, there's something of a problem with quality-control--"Headache" might be one of his more irresistible melodies, yet tracks like "(I Want To Live On An) Abstract Plain" and "Big Red" seem to have been written and performed on autopilot. Still, you sense that its maker might not exactly care; this time, he's attempting to please no one but himself. --Andrew McGuire
Review by Heather Phares
A sprawling double album, Frank Black's Teenager of the Year builds on the clever, carefully crafted pop he forged on his solo debut and moves even farther away from the Pixies' sound. It feels like the album Black wanted to make since Bossanova: "Whatever Happened to Pong?" and "Thalassocracy" are a one-two blast of energetic fun, but the tight songwriting and detailed arrangements on the strummy "Headache" and gentle, piano-driven "Sir Rockaby" are more interesting. Despite its 22-song length, most of Teenager of the Year's tracks are keepers; the first nine rank among Black's catchiest songs with or without the Pixies. "I Want to Live on an Abstract Plain" and "The Vanishing Spies" mix sweet straightforward melodies with spacy keyboards, and Black delivers a creative love song in "Speedy Marie"; the first letter of each line in the song's second half spells out his girlfriend's name. The driving, anthemic "Freedom Rock" is one of the album's more ambitious tracks, along with the catchy, educational "Ole Mulholland," a musical history lesson about William Mulholland, the developer and planner of Los Angeles' municipal water system. Teenager's beginning is so consistent, it's not surprising that its second half isn't quite as essential, but it's still interesting. The spacy, ska-tinged "Fiddle Riddle," the cryptic "Superabound," and the sprightly final track "Pie in the Sky" -- which sounds strangely like a punk version of Gary U.S. Bonds' hit "A Quarter to Three" -- all add to the album's individuality. Even less-developed songs like "Fazer Eyes" and "The Hostest with the Mostest" are still worthwhile. Though his later albums took a sparer, simpler approach, Teenager of the Year's ambition and quirkiness begin Black's evolution into a cult artist who makes the music he wants to, regardless of whether or not it's fashionable.
|
