Sifting through the many solo albums (and names) of Frank Black/Black Francis

Pop culture can be as forbidding as it is inviting, particularly in areas that invite geeky obsession: The more devotion a genre, series, or subculture inspires, the easier it is for the uninitiated to feel like they’re on the outside looking in. But geeks aren’t born; they’re made. And sometimes it only takes the right starting point to bring newbies into various intimidatingly vast obsessions. Gateways To Geekery is our regular attempt to help those who want to be enthralled, but aren’t sure where to start. Want advice? Suggest future Gateways To Geekery topics by emailing [email protected].
Geek obsession: Frank Black/Black Francis
Why it’s daunting: Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV—a.k.a. Black Francis, a.k.a. Frank Black, a.k.a. Black Francis again—may never top the incendiary music he made in the ’80s and early ’90s with the Pixies, though he can’t be accused of not trying. Beginning with 1993’s Frank Black, released the same year the Pixies’ acrimonious breakup-via-fax went public, Thompson has chalked up more than a dozen solo albums, a few online-only affairs, and a handful of odds-and-ends collections under various names and band incarnations. The styles and genres he’s explored are just as varied: sci-fi alt-rock, back-to-basics bar-rock, Nashville-indebted country, and Pixies-flavored noise. Critics have been largely lukewarm to Thompson’s solo career over the years (Pitchfork dismissed his early records with backing band The Catholics as “jangly, Midwestern shit-rock”), but there’s plenty of essential material to be found—some of which can stand toe to toe with the best of the Pixies. Keeping track of it all, however, can be a daunting task, and with the reformed (and Kim Deal-less) Pixies now releasing new material, Thompson’s sometimes fans-only solo career has become an increasingly niche concern.
Possible gateway: Dog In The Sand
Why: Thompson’s first three solo albums—Frank Black, 1994’s Teenager Of The Year, and 1996’s The Cult Of Ray—were in many ways variations on a Pixies theme. His time with The Catholics, on the other hand, signaled a drastic downshift in both production and style. Recorded live to a two-track and favoring meat-and-potatoes rock over songs about Pong and Ray Bradbury, the early Catholics albums were rough by design, and miles away from Thompson’s previously fussed-over records. Of the six Catholics albums, 2001’s Dog In The Sand is the most sophisticated—and the most essential. From the cover art down, Dog In The Sand is a dusty, sepia-toned desert crawl through a forgotten Southwest landscape, full of abandoned communes (“Llano Del Rio”), bursting early-20th-century dams (“St. Francis Dam Disaster”), and ghostly visages of long-dead country singers (“If It Takes All Night”). Musically, swaths of pedal steel and Wurlitzer organs give the album a haunted, otherworldly feel, as evidenced on standout tracks like “I’ve Seen Your Picture” and “The Swimmer.”
In much the same way the Pixies’ loud-quiet-loud template was eventually adopted by bands like Nirvana, Dog In The Sand quietly anticipated the rising tide of alt-country, as well as the back-to-basics recording regimen soon embraced by groups like The White Stripes. (In a press release for the album, Thompson wryly writes, “I foresee a time when we will record to wax cylinder, or perhaps a release only on sheet music.” Jack White and Beck were obviously taking notes.) Thompson has since moved on from Dog In The Sand’s moody Americana, but the album represents a second-act high-water mark, and points to the more country-leaning sounds that would follow.
Next steps: Thompson wasted no time in launching his solo career after grounding the Pixies in 1992. Originally planned as a covers album, 1993’s Frank Black found him teaming up with Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago and Pere Ubu keyboardist Eric Drew Feldman (who had previously worked and toured with the Pixies) and fully indulging in the sorts of songs and arrangements he had begun exploring on Trompe Le Monde. The first three tracks give a thrilling indication of what’s to come: the sprawling “Los Angeles”; the bittersweet “I Heard Ramona Sing” (a love letter to the Ramones); and a searing take on The Beach Boys’ “Hang On To Your Ego” (the only cover to survive the cut).