One finger, two finger, Black Francis, Bluefinger

Okay, now that I've listened to it a few times, I might as well offer my early thoughts on Bluefinger, the latest album from Frank Bla...oh, sorry, Black Francis, who (for this album at least) has reverted back to the old form of his name that he used with the Pixies. "Black Francis" has always reminded me of St. Nicholas' companion Black Peter. I wondered at first if there was some kind of connection, but I believe "Black Francis" was actually a hypothetical name that Frank's father suggested (but never used) for a future son. L. Frank Baum's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus does give Santa an helper named Peter (presumably after Black Peter) and another who's a pixie, but since they're not the same character, I can't say there's even an unintentional connection there. The name reversion does make me wonder how I'm going to put this album in alphabetical order. Should "Black" be regarded as the first name of this pseudonym, or simply an adjective?

Anyway, getting to the album itself, it begins with "Captain Pasty," a song that starts out sounding somewhat reminiscent of "I Want Rock 'n' Roll," although it's much less so in the chorus. The next song, "Threshold Apprehension," has a slight touch of rap-rock to it. The record continues in the noisy and not-so-melodic vein until reaching "Angels Come To Comfort You," the song most directly about the inspiration for the album, the Dutch artist Herman Brood. This track marks a shift to a catchier and more enjoyable (to me, anyway) sound. "Angels" and "She Took All The Money" (featuring backing vocals from Frank's wife Violet, who, for my money, is a better singer than his last wife). Overall, I wouldn't say I'm incredibly impressed by this album. I found the original songs on Christmass to be some of the best he'd done in years, so I'm kind of disappointed that he didn't continue along the same lines with this record. But Frank is an artist whose albums I generally I have to listen to several times before they really click with me, so I wouldn't be too surprised if I started liking even the less melodic songs a few months down the road. I think some of them are already starting to grow on me.

So what's next for Frank (regardless of what name he uses)? I've heard rumors of a project with Eric Drew Feldman, and of a new Pixies album. These rumors have been around for a while, though, so I don't know how much of a chance there is that they'll come true in the near future. Given his track record, though, I have a feeling we'll be hearing something else from him pretty soon.