Teenager Of The Year

Teenager Of The Year was a really good alt rock album. I had no idea that this guy was part of the Pixies so when i saw that Black Francis (His other name) had 4 albums including the 3 Pixies albums and this one, i was confused. This definitely does sound different than any of Black's work with Pixies by nixing a lot of the grunge elements and making this into more of a regular alt rock album. I think that it is a really good alt rock album with heavy guitars, good vocals and a good pace to the songs. However, i don't understand why it's on this list seeing as it sounds like so many of it's contemporaries. That being said, i think this album still sounds very good and that deserves some stars. Best Song: Two Reelers Worst Song: The Hostess With The Mostest

I like about 70% of the tracks on this album, so 4 stars or B- seems suitable.

Much better than I expected or remembered. “Calistan” is a highlight.

fajny franek czarny

Great punk energy! I loved this.

I liked this. Interesting voice and songs. A solid listen.

Another one I went in blind with. It seemed very messy, several of the songs just finished with no craft in their writing. Some good hooks and riffs. That voice ran the whole gauntlet from whiny falsetto to shout talking, via can't keep a longer note in tune very well. I've been harsh so far, it did settle down a bit, but I never got a cohesive identity for the album. Not a good first impression 2

I think if I had heard this in the 90s and was a larger fan of the pixies I'd have loved this album, but today... it just didn't really hit for me. It was GOOD, and nothing about it was BAD, but also nothing really grabbed me.

Ännu en artist jag känner till namnet, men inte så mycket musiken.

Kommer ihåg Headache från denna skiva. Fler bra låtar som Ole Mulholland och Big Red. Lite för många låtar.

Sounds like Pixies but more experimental, good of course but nothing that stands out

what a weird guy fun, chaotic, raw

super interesting so far and i like the rock-esque vibes mixed with a kind of midwest emo sound, definitely something my dad would’ve listened to

I really liked this album. In general I’m not usually one for double albums because I feel that they end up dragging on too long and loss their charm. This feels different though, I haven’t heard much of the Pixies so I don’t know how much this truly differs from their music. When I hear this it feels like a passion project, like this was the music he wanted to make and now that the Pixies had broken up he had time to pursue his own vision. Therefore this doesn’t have to appeal to a wide audience, it only has to appeal to himself and something about that is appealing. Overall the album does sound quite interesting, it’s a good blend of different styles and it’s a nice easy listening experience. I could happily sit and listen to this at any time, mostly due to it having a somewhat chilled out sound. I feel like I have to mention the album cover because I think it’s great, the extremely saturated colours make it quite eye catching and the way he’s standing with the roses is quite amusing. My favourite song is Calistan. I think the way he sings it really fits the song and the instruments all go into great depth, the piano sounds excellent the whole way through and the guitar solo is very nice. There’s a lot going on but it doesn’t feel like anybody is overplaying so the song feels really full but not obnoxious. I also love the way the guitarist works with the volume knob as he’s playing. I will for sure come back to this, absolutely blissful listen.

Great talent very varied

Was it Kim all along? Given the utter MAGIC of Come on Pilgrim, Doolittle, and Surfer Rosa, this release is astonishingly dull. You can hear all of Frank's quirks, but no one involved in the project seems to have the slightest idea how to construct anything interesting or moving from them. Maybe Kim was just smart enough to know that the pixie dust comes from collaboration and conflict, not from the "mind of a genius." After all, she enlisted Kelly on her side project and, while it didn't cleave the space-time continuum the way the Pixie's early work did, at least it took off and soared. This just flops around on the floor like a dying fish. The fact that Dimery includes this and nothing from the Breeders on his list is (another) strong indictment of his tastes in music.

4.5/10

pretty good but too long

Jamais écouté avant. Je ne sais pas trop quoi penser de cet album. D'un côté, il n'y a rien de scandaleux et il s'écoute sans gros obstacle, de l'autre, le mélange entre morceaux courts et durée totale très longue est un peu déroutant et donne parfois l'impression que Frank Black a voulu enregistrer toutes ses idées, quitte à ne pas les mener au bout... Le fait est que quand ça marche, on retrouve quelque chose de l'intensité des Pixies qui fait plaisir. Mais ça ne marche que rarement, et certains morceaux paraissent même complètement hors de propos en 1994... Une note mitigée, donc, pour un album pas totalement satisfaisant. Top : Freedom Rock Flop : Fiddle Riddle

Just rubbish. Didn’t like any of what I heard.

If ever there was a record that deserved a better sleeve, then this is it. The formidable and talented V23 team designed this, and I can only think that 4AD were trying to be funny, but they failed, and it's a shit show. Awful photo with typical type layout of the period; sadly, it wrapped a really listenable record, lyrics are a bit thin, but otherwise it's great, with shades of Lou Reed, J Mascis, dare I say Pet Shop Boys or Dylan vocal, but in tune. I'm not a Frank Black fan, but I enjoyed this, so thanks 1001.

Disturbing!

Shite

Corny as hell

Обкладинка так собі. Послухаємо)

Some killer, some filler.

Joa naja

I really shouldn't have judged the record by it's cover

I like the occasional pixies track, would love to have seen them live back in the day. There's no great departure for Frank Black here. This has punk energy but much better songs. Still very frenetic for me to enjoy and there are too many songs!

"Headache" feels like it would have been the Pixies' next logical step after Trompe le Monde- most tracks honestly feel that way. The other tracks on the record are all alright, but the record should have obviously been cut down. A tight 40 would have actually probably made for a 4/5 rather than a 3. His music is fun, well-produced and always forward-thinking.

Weird and all over the place, didn’t really like any song

Whatever happened to pong? - 4 Thalassocracy - 4 (I want to live on an) abstract plan - 4 Calistan - 4 The vanishing spies - 3 Speedie marie - 3 Headache - 4 Sir rockaby - 3 Freedom rock - 4 Two reelers - 4 Fiddle riddle - 4 Ole mulholland - 4 Fazer eyes - 3 I could stay here forever - 3 The hostess with the mostest - 4 Superabound - 4 Big red - 4 Space is gonna do me good - 4 White noise maker - 3 Pure denizen of the citizen's band - 3 Bad, wicked world - 3 Pie in the sky - 3

Wanted to like this more than I did….

Great album, but not super-great.

Litt for mange vokalister som oppdager litt for sent at de fungerer beste i en gruppe. Ikke dårlig, men ingenting det får her som ikke er 10 ganger bedre på alle Pixies-album.

Should have stayed with Pixies. They are not great but you are better with them.

He sounded alright and it was long

Sounded good, honestly a lot better than I thought it would be. I don't think it's fantastic and it's certainly way too long but it could have been a lot worse.

Same as listening to Pixies. After couple songs-I’m good. This was entirely too long. Way too long

ich han d pixies gern drum da chunt guet. haha es tönt wie viagra boys sobald er singt. es isch catchy pop rock sochli? nüt mega bsunders bis etz.

As a Pixies fan, I'm disappointed in myself for not having heard this before. I'm putting that right by adding it to my 'to buy list'. Heard before ✅️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ✅️ ★★★★☆(7/10) Total reviewed : 449 Already owned : 99 Purchased : 25 To buy : 2 Nope : 323

When I saw the album cover I had my doubts and then the music wasn't what I expected. First I thought there might be something here I might enjoy but it son evolved into another mindless waste of time. Something about the 90's changed music. Fortunately there are groups, old and new, that still make good music.

An interesting listen, from the name I had on idea who he was but that quickly became obvious once the music started. A great example of a band being more than the sum of their parts in that I felt FB’s style, while ever present on Pixies albums, was a bit too concentrated on this album. It’s decent and perfectly enjoyable, especially when you’re used to the Pixies, but got slightly samey. High quality but not as enjoyable or catchy - I’d struggle to pick out many songs that are likely to stick with me.

I wasn't paying much attention when I started this album, but it didn't take long for the penny to drop that this was an unmistakable Pixies spin-off. In a way, it's an interesting evolution while still capturing the magic of the best Pixies albums. The primary reason Pixies were such a success for me is that, at first glance, it all sounds like chaos, but that's a skill in itself. Without precision, disorder and grit are just noise. This is still incredibly hooky, but it's not simple tosh. There's a constant sense of variation, with so many styles and sounds perfectly glued together. "Fiddle Riddle" and "Abstract Plan" even slide in a bit of reggae mooch. I'm struggling to find fault. Despite the lengthy tracklist, I just kept smashing through the songs without disliking a single thing. I love how it kept pulling me back in. It's unusual to hear such an overstuffed, sprawling piece of work that never becomes annoying. "Fazer" was a standout too, with that typically thick bass line. What a monster treat I didnt know existed!!!

Only after looking into this album did I realise quite how prolific Frank Black was, outside of Pixies. It is with a slight disappointment that I say this album is fine. It is generally a slightly above average guitar rock music sound, but it lacks the catchy licks of Pixies and I can't help the constant comparison as I listen. No particular track jumped out to me as being a cut above the rest and the whole album just passed me by without much excitement. It's also too long. Another album that could be improved by a bit of distillation. A middling to decent album that, if not much else, was interesting to showcase a distilled Frank Black style and therefore infer his contribution to the Pixies sound.

I love those first 3 Pixies albums. And definitely wish the later ones spoke to me more. This sometimes feels like that, but also sometimes feels like he’s just dicking around. Abstract Plane is a highlight. Sometimes it feels like he just gave up half way with some of the writing.

Just like the pixies, this sound and vibe is just not for me.

Some great songs and some forgettable ones that make the whole thing feel a bit too long … on balance, a high 3

This is 30 minutes of awesome music on a 60 minutes album

(at the time of writing the review) This has an average score of exactly 3. Yeah that's about right. I liked parts of it, the start of it hmmm not so much, but it mellowed out x

299.

That Kung-Fu Panda really can sing. The jauntiest of teenager anthems right from the panda's maw lift my spirits after yesterdays spiralling descent to the infernal pits of British house music. I would love to have seen this list if it were developed by more contributors. More of a consensus should have been reached in undertaking a task such as this. Sometimes the British guy needs to can it, so we can replace The Shamen and Goldie with uhh something tolerable. Frank Black deserves something other than me mistaking him for Jack Black and espousing my hatred for overrated English House music, but here we are. More than halfway through the review, and nothing but panda jokes and raw hatred for the Bretons. Can I still call them that? Between the Acadian and Scottish heritage, it's in my blood to hate the English. Uhhh this album rules. It's joyous yet melancholic, optimistic, yet cynical, and carried by beautiful melodies and a ton of charming wit. There's the obligatory reggae song that could've been one of the leading contenders for the axe in order to get this thing under an hour, but I have very few problems with the record. Very glad it's here and that I got to hear it again. Pixies and adjacent is in my exact Q-Zone. 4 GENREA: BRUTAL Panda Fights (COMPILATION)

Cool le début après ça devient ennuyeux

Liked this album a lot more than I expected

I didn't know this artist. Many tracks. Some bad, some annoying and a few good ones. A fair album overall.

Loved this record for years, much more than Pixies. So creative, all over the damn place and gorgeous production. Saw him play the entire record last year in London too - epic night. Despite the amount of tracks, the whole thing is awesome.

1079 - "Here's your juice box and orange slice. Thanks for coming."

eh

Interesting combination of multiple strands of pop: Art Rock (Lou Reed; Bowie); Prog Rock (Fripp); UB40 (whatever form they are); all overlayed on punk. There’s impressive talent and creativity here. But I don’t know that i like it — it’s a 3, but naybe a 4. Worth another listen.

Despite the long track list, this was actually a pretty fun album. Every song had a new idea or sound or instrument to offer, which goes to show that Frank Black made sure to make the most of the extra time on his record. It’s creative, it’s fun, and its overall just some really good alt-rock from the lead singer of one of Boston’s greatest acts.

В стиле pixies

Good, but could benefit from his three Pixies bandmates.

filled with great tunes but largely found myself worn down by the length. needed to be punchier, and lowkey no kim no deal

09/23 Generic, bland, forgettable

Instrumentals are fine. The singing sucks and is weird and not even in the experimental way. Every track sounds the same.

This album is really good at times, but it's an hour long. It feels even longer too.

gostei de algumas, de outras nem tanto. e achei o álbum bem longo

good music, not usually what I listen to but I like it.

Plenty of fun to be had but it mostly makes you want to stick the Pixies on.

A little too much filler among the gems, but a very fun ride

This was great!

Never heard of this album or this guy before (although I am familiar with The Pixies). Very pleased though. This is the kind of fun/surferesque alternative rock I tend to enjoy. The tracklisting is on the longer side, so my attachment to the songs varies, but a lot were really catchy. Fav Tracks: "Headache", "Olé Mulholland" and "Big Red".

T’was fun, t’suffered from length. 3.5->4

Punky

Meh

I'm a big Pixies fan, but this is like Diet Pixies. I'd still give it 4 stars if it had been shorter. There's too much filler here and after a while you stop noticing the individual songs.

Good album, strong 3.

This album’s average rating is exactly a 3, and honestly that is how I feel exactly about this album. At times it is fun, at times I find it annoying, and overall it is a fine album that never really clicks with me enough to enjoy it more.

is this kinda long for an alt album or am i showing my ignorance? 3.25

It really didn't need to be this long for such mediocre songs. It could have been a pretty decent 40 minutes record, but as it is it's a mess

Not for me

Some cool tracks, all seems a bit thrown together though.

Catchy at times. Grating at others.

Interesting. Some good stuff on there. Consistently enjoyable. Solid 4.

I like the overall sound of it. Think I'll go 3.5 rounded up because it made me listen to Doolittle aftewards

2 estrellas. Monótono, nada destacable ni memorable. Algunos temas lindos pero que quedan ahí nada mas. Lo escuché post Abraxas de Santana que me voló la cabeza asi que quizas eso influya en mi poco interés en este album.

This album feels so mature and so young at the same time. Listening to it was interesting and enjoyable from start to finish. The way it fuses punk rock and indie works really well, creating a sound that feels restless but controlled. The instrumentals are great. The guitars and rhythms have plenty of energy and personality, and the songs move with a clear sense of direction. Frank Black’s vocals sound exactly as they are meant to on this record. They carry both urgency and a strange kind of ease that fits the material perfectly. The production is clean and effective. It keeps a raw edge while still letting every part come through clearly. Nothing feels overworked or overly polished, which suits the mix of punk energy and more thoughtful songwriting. Teenager of the Year is a strong and distinctive album. Interesting, well played and full of character.

As a long time Pixies fan it really is about time I checked this out, and to be honest it's good to know I'm really not missing much. Nothing about the music on this album is particularly interesting or memorable, just a really average and straightforward rock album, but not the good kind. For an album as unglamorous as this, being over an hour is completely unnecessary. I've always maintained that no album needs to be more than 60 minutes, unless it's doing something really spectacular, although there is exactly one exception to this rule and it's London Calling by The Clash. If this were a more standard length of about 40 minutes I might have liked it more, but about half way through I got the point of what the album was trying to do and just had to sit through the entire second half which was no different to what I had already been listening to for the last half an hour already.

It's OK!

Dober

I totally reviewed this once already. This has happened a couple of times and I'm not sure why. Probably something I did, but it's frustrating.

Yuck.

Love the Pixies and Frank, but this was just too much of a good thing. Could have been a 12 track, 4 star banger. But at 20-plus tracks without much sonic variety, it wears out its welcome. Still another solid 1994 entry.

Too many rock albums here that sound nothing special this one is included

What do you call this? Quirky jazzy indie rock? I like it. A little long.

“Not great, not terrible.” Chernobyl (2019)

This wasn't a bad album was it way too long for what it was.

What if Iggy Pop & Lou Reed made a shitty generic 90s album together.

I like Pixies and FB and I own and enjoy this record, but not really convinced it's something you need to hear before you die

3.5/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/frank-black/teenager-of-the-year-2/ I quite liked this album, because I also like Pixies. But where (early) Pixies albums are nice because they are also sort of short, this album overstays its welcome a bit. While some songs on the later half of the album still stand out, there’s a bit too much of the same. Would’ve benefited greatly from trimming the fat.