Reviews (page 4 of 7)
Mostly forgettable album (this has been happening a lot in this exercise so far). Not bad, but not something I need to hear again outside of 1-2 tracks. Whatever
Interessante
Ok!
Very middle of the road.
Very average, too long
What even is this album art? I love it and hate it at the same time. As far as album content goes, this album is a fairly decent mid 90s album. Kinda reminds me of Marcy Playground. I wonder if they took some influence from this one.
Probably would not listen to this again: too American. It was interesting to listen to but I didn't finish it.
Ok. Nothing stood out.
6/10
Slightly enjoyable, a little interesting, but nothing that makes me hungry for more. I would listen to it again but I'm thinking I'll forget this album ever existed pretty quickly 6.5/10
Not bad
Pixies without the name.
Can't say it was bad, can't say I cared to much listening to it. May have caught me on the wrong day or just been a genre mismatch to my preference. It's decent.
I listened to so much music inspired by Frank Black and in the same vain. I was a big fan of a lot of stuff put out by Sonic Unyon Records around the time Frank Black started working with them. All this to say I checked in with his music back then and like this album, I was already satisfied with what I had for this style of music. Solid song crafting, just doesn't pop for me. That being said Headache was my favorite track.
Better than I hoped. Over 18,000 votes when I got to it, and a perfectly even 3.0 rating with a beautiful bell curve across the spectrum, and I'm not inclined to wreck it because I think it's spot on.
Pretty decent rock, but it kind of overstayed its welcome after a while.
Today we enter the They Might Be Giants extended universe despite encountering doolittle before. Yeah, Frank is a tmbg fan and john linnell played on his first solo album. Roughly 90% of indie artists are tmbg fans or fans of tmbg fans. They are probably the most well known niche band. just like the members of the band joked, “(being the most successful indie rock band in the united states is) like being the world’s tallest midget”. anyway to prove this I should gather some random data and do a one sample proportion Z-test on this cause I just got back from my ap stat class. the problem is that his pixies stuff are kinda peak and this is just kinda weak. 3/5 P.S. what do you mean that tmbg announced their new album today. That’s a surprise innit
Heb niet op de lyrics gelet maar "here i am in my bucket today" zit in mn hoofd geworteld😔🙏
Ja love dit wel. Ik voelde me een beetje de alternatieve oudere broer uit een 90s tiener komedie. Voor de rest niet echt bij me gebleven, geen standouts. Dus dat laat de rating wel zakken
4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 17
Patiently listened to the whole thing, hoping I would like a song or two. One started and I was like, yes! this is the one! But the album was over and it was by the flaming lips. 2.5
Some interesting songs, some I did not enjoy at all.
Few good, few not.
again in the middle, didnt get to listen to it all. Its possible the bit I didnt hear was the better bit
I enjoyed almost every track on this, which isn't too much of a surprise given my love for the pixies. However there was not a single standout track on here. Nothing I heard and said I need to come back to this. If there was one or two song like that on this album, it would be a 4, but instead it gets a 3.
teenager of the year with an...old guy. Im intrigued. design and font choices look like something id lay out in cs2 for the velvet velvet in 2002. all over the place in the best ways. hints of ween. its too long, like so many records put out in the 90s. just because a compact disc has the space for 22 tracks doesnt...doesnt mean it needs to be. highlights track 3 sounds like kurt vile if he took his vitamins. SIR ROCK A BABY has some rad lil organ and sings about jim-jams franks sonic shape shifting continues on TWO REELERS with droning iggy pop vocals
3.5
OK, Frank.
Liked the individual songs, interesting lyrics, almost 4 stars
A really good jam album. Some tunes on here I enjoyed a lot, but after a while it all kinda blended together. That’s the thing with long albums like this, you gotta switch it up at some point.
Heard the first two songs and wanted to stop listening immediately. Almost gave up and turned the album off. Quite glad i powered through those and didnt stop, because the rest of it ended up being much better! Sounded like a group of guys in their own garage band at times… also there were waaaaayyy too many songs on this album, 22 is insane!!! 5/10 but I rounded and idk why
This benefits from not being directly compared only to the highs of The Pixies. It’s a little bit Pixies, some Pavement, some New Pornographers, and something all its own. Vary 1994.
This took me a few songs to get into it, but once I was in, I was in. Really enjoyed this, although it felt a touch long. A really solid 3.5 stars.
It's a fine mix of post punk. He tries a little to hard on a few, but still listenable. You can hear some of the influences (The Cars, etc.) and somewhat of a desperation to be different. It woks on some, but not as much on others. 3.
Sympa, mais difficile de passer après Iron Maiden !
"Sir Rockaby" was the first track that caught my attention. I see now that it featured Joey Santiago on lead guitar. Nothing else here really grabbed me.
I don't begrudge this album its place on the list. My only real complaint about it is that it is a little too long, but there are a number of interesting tracks. Favorite track(s): "Headache," "White Noise Maker," "(I Want to Live on An) Abstract Plain"
I was big into this record and Frank Black's follow ups when it came out. Also Breeders. I liked the style of recording. I believe they were mostly cut live. They had a 2 track running at rehearsals, and dialed in, so could just run the set over and over, and the best take became the track. Or so I have heard.
Dude makes 70s music 20 years later. Brings nothing new, nothing interesting. 5/10
I doubt anyone has ever enjoyed this record as much as Frank Black enjoyed making it. Not Weezer. Not Nada Surf. Not Matchbox 20. Not Eels. Not Pavement. Not Band of Horses. Not Silversun Pickups. Not Cloud Nothings. Not… I think I’ve played with at least six bands with names inspired by tracks and lyrics on this record (though all of them on the first half; the second half of the record proves only how easy Frank Black finds the whole enterprise of indie rock). And just like it was with Pixies when I was a young ‘un, what I love most about this album took a couple of spins to get to growing on me: “Thalassocracy”, “(I want to live on an) Abstract Plain” – maybe the best showcase of Black’s effortless glissando I’ve yet heard – and “Headache” are total jams that each deserve to be played loud and fast. Teenager of the Year is a record that starts full of fitful piss and febrile vinegar, starts to mellow as it gets to know itself then lasts way too long. As far as descriptions of the experience of being a teenager go – faultless. Unfortunately, though, I’m not reviewing the potency of an analogy. The pimply profligacy is lamentable.
Ziemlich lang, aber angenehm anzuhören. 3 1/2.
I love the Pixies (and the Breeders) but I thought this album was only okay.
Not an enjoyable album. 4/10 3/5
Kind of a whacky ecclectic album. Vocally not the strongest but musically very nice. 3/5
Big fan of Pixies' Doolittle and not so much anything else, this came out a few years after that. Guitar and bass work is sorely missed from Pixies, what remains is quite enjoyable though. (Although I do see Joey Santiago played on a few)
Vocalista dos Pixies, e cm gostei mt do bossanova tava c esperanças altas, no entanto não gostei tanto como o album dos Pixies. Não foi mau tho, médio diria, 3*
Some grunge, ska, punk influences on this alternative 90s rock record. It's simply an okay album. The mood is certainly that of the 90s, so it can get kind of boring at times, but it's not terrible to listen to, just something I wouldn't revisit intentionally.
Bien, pero no Pixies
Overall: 6/10 Honestly, as a huge fan of the Pixies and the Breeders, I found this to be a bit lame? The whole album sort of feels like leftovers, and other than a few standout tracks, I didn't really feel like it was Black Francis's best work. Still, I enjoyed having more Pixies-esque music to listen to, so I can't complain too much. Fav Song: Olé Mulholland
lots of cool ideas that he decided not to do any work on before recording. if he had polished these it couldve been five stars
Album Review 038 Teenager Of The Year by Frank Black (1994) Rating 3/5 I hadn’t listened to TOTY for at least two or three years before the 1001 generator dealt me it for album #038. Immediate memories were that it had a couple of standout tracks, wasn’t as good as his first solo album or anything the Pixies had released up to that point, and that could be 20mins shorter and no less good. And after listening again??? Few artists write songs like Frank Black and there’s not a bad one across the 63 minutes of TOTY. Yeah, it’s not as good as early Pixies but it is different enough to have its own character.
Very long and not a whole lot of variation, which would be fine if I liked the base formula. Unfortunately im not the biggest pixies fan to begin with (hoping that will change in the future). Yeah i mean okay, i love his vocals and theres some great guitar work but eh, bit of a nothing album for me. Grade: 3B Top tracks: The Hostess with the Mostest.
I’ve never been hugely in to the Pixies. I’ve tried many times. I’ve seen them live and nothing. People whose opinion I respect told me how much they liked them. Nothing. I enjoyed this album but I can’t say it’s something I will come back to. I’m glad I listened to it but that’s where it ends
No idea who this guy is/was and hate the album cover and it’s way too long and some of the songs are trash. Other than that I liked his sound - kind of Wilco’ish at times - and thought it could be okay.
Decent tracks nothing stands out
It's technically really good. I got bored. Sorry frank.
As much alt rock as I listened to in the 90's it's pretty amazing that I never heard of this until now. Good stuff. Favorite track: Thalassocracy
Good to see Frans Bauer made it onto this list. Fine album, bit long but pretty enjoyable. The songs don't really rise above what the Pixies did though. It's all good, but it doesn't really feel great to me. Just a bit CD of alternative rock songs.
yo Mr. White, I think I heard your name in here somewhere
Nothing about this grabs me the way the likes of Doolittle does. It’s just lacking in something. And no need for a double album, a bit of pruning would have made this much better
This felt bloated. Most of the songs felt like they lasted longer than they actually were. Maybe pulling out the bottom 8 songs would have made this one better to me.
90s punk/alt rock - never heard of them before this but enjoyed it! Great energy, a bit of variety. Some of it was a bit shouty/talky instead of singy, which was only meh.
Good fun!!
this was so fun!! i think this guy played supercrawl the first time i went ...? in 2011 /////>>???
Interesting, yet he is nowhere near as good solo compared to pixie catalogue.
ok
not bad stuff
Fun and upbeat but not terribly noteworthy. Something for everyone with a very safe alt rock/pop sound and plenty of fun performances, but lacks a true statement track or moment that would make me want to come back for more. Not bad, but a little long for how little stands out
Whatever Happened to Pong? 3.6 Thalassocracy 3.6 (I Want to Live on an) Abstract Plain 3.5 Calistan 3.3 The Vanishing Spies 3.4 Speedy Marie 3.4 Headache 3 Sir Rockaby 3.2 Freedom Rock 3.4 Two Reelers 3.3 Fiddle Riddle 3.5 Ole Mulholland 3.3 Fazer Eyes 3.4 I Could Stay Here Forever 3.3 The Hoistess with the Mostest 3.5 Superabound 3.4 Big Red 3 Space Is Gonna Do Me Good 3.1 White Noise Maker 3.3 Pure Denizen of the Citizens Band 3.4 Bad, Wicked World 3 Pie in the Sky 3.2 Score: 3.322727273
This did not need to be a double album. There are some great tracks on this album (Freedom Rock / Headache to name a couple) but there are plenty of filler and a few bum notes (the reggae track). I like the general vibe although I don't think his vocals are strong enough to carry some of the tracks. Could easily be a 4/5 star album if was just 12 tracks/ 30 min blast.
Glad to give this a listen. Some old Pixies in there, but otherwise a basic alternative/garage band album. A few cuts were worthy of downloading but the rest were average an forgetable.
While I love The Pixies and like his previous album, I didn’t particularly care too much for this one.
Better than expected
Much prefer his first solo album to this one.
Enjoyed this
Not very interesting. It's not bad, but it's not great either. I'm not sure I understand why this album is in here.
It's no as good as Pixies stuff but it's alright here and there
Слушал тихо, фоном. Не напрягало. 6 из 10.
Really speedy album with a familiar voice. Not bad but nothing I would go out looking for or choose to play daily either.
It was ok.
Far too many songs but Headache is a an absolute banger.
Didn't love it, didn’t hate it. Enjoyed a few of the tunes on first listen, happy to give it another listen later in the week and see if it grows on me.
I've resisted getting into the Pixies for some reason. Not sure why. Every time I've listened to one of their albums it just hasn't stuck with me, and I think to some extent they started to fall into that category of, "I'm just going to decide I don't really like this band mainly because everyone keeps saying I should like them." So Frank Black sort of fell into that same category. But I like this album! A little long.
Correcto
I’d have probably loved this if I’d heard it back when it was released. Now, it was an ok listen. Nothing about it particularly blew me away. And 22 songs is a LOT.
I listened to this album the first time through on shuffle, so I feel like I did not get a good feel for what the album sounds like. I do not find this album to be as interesting as I find The Pixies albums, but overall it was still a good one. It feels a bit random to me that we have a Frank Black album on the list. It's not like the album did wonderful on the charts or had some other impact on culture/music. I also probably could have done without a double album. It seems like there is a really strong single album in here somewhere. I enjoyed this album. It's probably not revolutionary compared to other albums in the book. Some of my favorite tracks were: (I Want to Live on An) Abstract Plain Calistan Speedy Marie Headache Sir Rockaby Fiddle Riddle Ole Muholland I Could Stay Here Forever Big Red Pie in the Sky
I kind of liked his voice. Some of the songs weren't too bad. And some were kinda bad!
Not bad Frank, 22 songs is a lot though
Weirdly this almost is more accessible than the pixies at times?
it’s like a bootleg pixies album by the pixies guy
Pas mal, mériterait une réécoute pour voir si certains morceaux peuvent ajouter à ma playlist
Frank Black's best solo LP and, in many ways, while it is not really as original as much of The Pixies' celebrated output, it is certainly more upbeat and accessible. While loud and edgy on the surface, a warm acoustic heart beats beneath throughout. Black never loses sight of the importance of melodies and the abundance of enthusiastically deployed solid, occasionally slightly offbeat, hooks is what elevates it above the bulk of his post-Pixies, post-grunge peers from the mid-90s. Catchy and clever in all the right places, the singles in particular shine among a clutch of straight-to-the-point alternative pop confections. Maybe just a tad too sprawling and unfocused to be a true classic, particularly towards the end, there is still much to love here.
Solo Black Francis is kinda like new Pixies music. It’s not bad, it’s just not as good as that other band. The one with Kim Deal. Anyway, this is ok.
Headache is his greatest non pixies song. Harmonica on Pong rocks.
It was alright. I couldn’t pick out anything that made this rise above all the other alternative acts at the time. 3/5
Meh...I love the Pixies. But this was just so mid. After about 5 songs I was looking at college football articles and responding to comments, in the background this album, doing nothing (bad or good) to draw me away from that. Was it bad? No. But was it so good at any point that I dropped what I was doing to re-listen to any song. Nope. So, meh. 2.6 stars to be generous will be 3 stars.
Had some great songs but also felt like some filler
It was fun to listen to but it not draw me in and I probably won't got to it again.
He might have been crowned Teenager Of The Year," but this definitely isn't winning Album Of the Year. 3/5
Fedt lyt, varieret nok til at det ikke rigtig gjorde noget at den var så lang. Mindede mig om The Fall, måske bare fordi vi lige har hørt The Fall
Nice sound - blurry genre, but it was interesting and luckily didn't feel too long. Big 3 !
It was ok.
Enjoyable, but not much more.
I like this one. High 3 stars. Not amazing but pretty good.
Solid, fun record but I couldn't quite get super into it on this day. I haven't listened to so much Frank black solo, but it sounds very clearly like his songwriting style carries through from pixies. The raw pinkish energy, the lyrical weirdness, frantic but somehow hooky melodies. The presentation seems pixies too. There's just a small bit of soul missing from pixies for me. There's something about the production that I don't like. It sounds very 90s somehow. The guitar sounds for example feel too clean somehow (even though distorted from pedals/amps) and kind of thin? The album is also a little long for my usual tastes without so much variation or any clear development arc.
not mine
Rv
Unfair, but this isn't a patch on the Pixies albums that preceded it. Lots of tracks, mostly absolutely fine but I think the dub ones should probably have been left in the studio as an experiment gone wrong. I can't really remember any of them except Headache.
3.4 2x good but nothing stood out
‘Teenager of the Year’ is better than its title and cover would suggest. Beneath its dodgy artwork is a varied and ambitious album that blends offbeat lyrics with often sharp and melodic songwriting. It’s an unpredictable listen that doesn’t always land but generally remains engaging — even if it would have benefited from being a bit shorter.
Not my style. Not enjoying it enough to listen to the whole thing.
Not my cuppa tea
point0.
Never got into Frank Black's solo stuff to the same level as the Pixies. Did remind me of this amazing show from sixteen (!!!!) years ago https://www.stereogum.com/105231/pixies_weird_al_flea_tenacious_d_echoplex_la/photo
Is this what teenagers looked like in the 90s? Man, I'm young. Frank Black does pretty well with many of these songs, but other act as filler that can certainly be cut out of this 62-minute hulk. Influence from the Pixies is definitely present in the spikiness and high energy, though there are less occurrences of soft-loud and stop-start changes here. This causes a bit of monotony (though it's still energetic) as the album progresses. All of the best songs are near the start anyway, so you might as well ignore the latter half of the record if you're seeking out one cohesive piece of art. (Seriously - you can't tell me with a straight face that Big Red or Pie in the Sky add anything musically interesting compared to some of the earlier songs.) Ah. Co-produced by an ex-Pere Ubu member. That explains a lot. Many of the flaws, the drawbacks holding this back from being 4 or 5 stars, comes from a generation of experimentation and atonality that hit a near-objective dead end. Various musical elements are tacked on seemingly at random and without regard for the key, making it difficult to hear the sounds in a positive light. Songs like Superabound and Two Reelers are technically pretty good songs, but all the side synths, guitar licks that never repeat, musical ideas that are never revised... it kind of violates the "Chekhov's gun" of music. (Don't introduce musical elements that contribute nothing to the flow/movement/ plot of the record.) A lot of songs here either avoid doing this or hide it well, as in the excellent Thalassocracy, Headache, and (I Want to Live on An) Abstract Plain. 3/5 Key tracks: Thalassocracy, (I Want to Live on An) Abstract Plain, Headache, Freedom Rock
It was ok but quite long and forgettable
Look, The Pixies are great. They absolutely belong on the list. But does Frank Black solo? This list is rife with examples like this: Roxy Music, yes. Brian Eno, no. Talking Heads, yes. David Bryne, no. Et cetera. Do you have to be at the Rock Hall level of a solo career to make this project? No, but you have to have some kind of additional contribution. All that said, this is a totally decent rock album on its own. Nothing exceptional, but solid throughout. Could have been a few songs lighter. Influence 2. Quality 4. Hits 1. I'll give it a 3.
Decent.
*1994. 2nd solo album after leaving the Pixies. *A couple weird tracks to start, then it settled in and sounded like solid mid-1990's pop rock. *I liked it. RATING - 6.5/10
A heaping dose of post-Pixies alt rock, none of which raises quite to those heights, but the album is still full of exciting guitars, driving propulsive rhythms, and catchy melodies. Plus the odd alt-country twand. It doesn’t have the loud/quiet dynamics of the Pixies best songs, but that trick had been copied to death and diffused across the radio by the mid 90s anyway. Lots of short songs, mostly built out of the signature of combo of clean and dirty guitars and surf, punk, and classic rock roots, but with added pianos and synths to flesh out the arrangements and more of a power pop indie orientation (and in one cringey case, reggae). Drags on a bit, would be best curated down to 16 tracks/45 minutes.
This albums not and. I quite like his voice but it was a bit long and some of the lyrics are iffy. I like that it’s a lot of short songs actually Specific rating - 3.3 Fav song - ole mulholland. Least fav- two reelers
I’m one who thinks the 90s produced the best music in history. Not this. It’s fine, even pretty decent, but it sounds 90s in the worst possible way. I don’t know how to explain that, but I just don’t think it aged very well. Again, it’s a totally ok album — but it isn’t greatness.
Some nice guitar and cool songs but also many that sucked.
I wanted to love this so bad. I was ready to love it because the run of the first couple of songs is just so good (it's 22 songs and over an hour long), but it really needed to be edited down to half the length and the second half does not have the energy of the first. First half is perfect '90s indie rock songwriting with most songs under three minutes long and the second half the songs stretch closer to five minutes and I just do not want to hear Frank Black write a reggae song and... yeah this could've been so good. Another victim of the CD era. No album needs to be longer than 40 minutes!
Fun album, but no way I’d go back to it over Doolittle or surfer rosa.
I love Pixies. Not sure you could class this as ‘an album you must hear before you die’ when Surfer Rosa, Doolittle and Bossanova exist. A couple of songs like Abstract Plain and Headache are Pixies standard songs but there’s definitely a fair bit of filler here. With a bit of quality control this could have been a great 13-song album instead of a middling 22-song one
This is cool- I love the pixies but never listened to Frank’s solo albums except for a few odd tracks here and there. The immediate difference to me is the drumming. Significantly busier and more accomplished than David Lovering of the pixies. Otherwise musically this is Frank’s old bag of tricks (odd time signatures, bizarre key and chord changes) pushed to the limits and applied to other genres. And I know brevity is part of Frank’s “thing” but there are riffs and ideas here that deserve to be explored but we only get to hear them for 10-15 seconds at best. This is a very solid THEEE STARS
No, I don't think that was very good. Not terrible. It was fine as background music while I worked, but I found nothing of interest here.
Downbeat indie pop alternative, godd songwriting and great vocals in an oversatureated genre.
The problem here is restraint. The thing just doesn’t know when to end. A double album trapped in a single disc. Spins: 2 Playlist Additions: - Thalassocracy - I Could Stay Here Forever - Space Is Gonna Do Me Good
Really fun! Feels like he's throwing a lot of stuff at the wall, and while a lot of it doesn't stick, it's generally pretty listenable. Fav tracks - The Vanishing Spies, Speedy Marie, Headache Added to Library - Speedy Marie, Headache
I have been very aware of this album for a long time. I dont think I ever heard any of it before. It's wild that I can only picture the the guy on the cover singing the songs. I just learned right now that he was in the Pixies band. Good wild short songs. I will give it multiple listens because I am barely getting in the groove and mood of the song and it changes. So far 5.6
Overall fun, enjoyable alt rock but not super stand-out memorable (doesn’t seem vital enough to be on this list) and a lot of the best tracks get washed away in a sea of too many. Though there is some kind of interesting nugget in every song, even if a brief riff, sound, melody, or lyric. The best tracks are when Frank Black does what he does best, chaotically fronting a spastic and dynamic band - balancing melody and smoothness with mayhem and intensity (though it can’t touch Pixies in this regard, though you can see the clear relation). But even with some songwriting diversity, a lot feels like it’s treading the same path which makes only the best or most unique songs stand out. It kind of feels like the GBV approach of throw it at the wall and see what sticks. But with longer songs and better production, that approach may work as well. I could also change my mind if I got to know these songs better eventually.
pretty good! pretty good. rounding down because we already had the Pixies, and rounding up to 4 would make me further regret some of the others I rounded down
Quite liked it. Strong rock album.
A fun indie rock album with good riffs and vocals, a shorter track list would do the album service though.
It's aight. A few good songs here and there.
This is ok
Ну не знаю, доволі дефолтний сольний альбом від лідера піксіз. Одна пісня сподобалась, а так загалом фоново.
Frank is great at times, but can’t sustain an entire album. Kim carried the extra load with the Pixies
This was OK, not bad, not great. I think this album would have benefited from being shorter and culling some of the chaff. I'm feeling 2.5/5 but I'll round up.
Good 90s indie music. Enjoyable but not especially creative.
Some enjoyable tracks, but the cumulative effect wasn't great.
Kind of a hot mess
Good but long. Albums shouldn't overstay their welcome.
Very strong first half but it kinda simmers out. I love pretty much all the songwriting here, it’s very creative. Just wish it carried the energy throughout the whole album. And yeah we do need more silly men.
Competent straightforward rock.
Eh it was ok, just sounded like Pixies...
It was alright, the album cover didn’t match the content. I enjoyed it
3.25 first half better than the last
Not really my style of music but it has a sort of charm to it that really made me listen through the whole thing in one sitting. A lot of the tracks where a bit to noisy for me and had a lot of stuff going on or they just felt a bit aggressive which was not the mood I felt like listening to at the moment.
Solid work that occasionally reaches near the highs of The Pixies but overall is mostly rather be listening to them. It’s a bit overstuffed as well at over an hour.
Some of the Pixies edge and rawness here, but it lacks the band's complimentary artistic contributions that keep Frank from being too one notey.
Just ok
Surprisingly melodic and varied. First couple songs maybe punk influenced, but Abstract Plain is alternative then Calistan is a moody, midtempo piece with a groovy bassline and backing piano. Nice. We stay melodic for the next couple tracks, building to Headache which was a radio single. I don't know it but it's catchy enough to get me nodding my head. Freedom Rock has my favorite riffing so far and then Two Reelers is some of the heaviest stuff on the record. Fiddle Riddle is a quirky dub inspired track, bass and keys doing the heavy lifting, and Ole Mulholland has another killer riff and great basslines. We keep going through several more solid songs, chunky bass and guitars in the forefront. There's maybe a bit of a lull in the back half, but White Noise Maker is a good one, chugging along with catchy hooks and the nice thick guitar tone. In the end, this is a fun romp, only length and consistency keep me from going higher. 22 songs is a LOT.
This album got better as is settled after a few songs.
Never quite as good as the Pixies were at their height, but closer to what they were towards the end of the group. There are a few bright spots here and there, but overall it's only slightly above average at best.
jaja, ja. weiss nicht recht was ich nach dem weekend schreiben soll, ich habe wohl am freitag zuwenig gut zugehört.
Ein Album das beim zweiten hören vielseitig wirkt. Trotzdem frage ich mich was er eigentlich damit erreichen wollte.
La verdad me sorprendió, esperaba escuchar una re poronga y me gustó como para fajarlo de fondo, para un juego de play viejo viejo
Me gustó, no esperaba mucho pero me dio un sonido nostálgico de algo que podría escuchar en mtv y años más tardes en Debar. Un sólido 3 porque me entretuvo.
Pensé que iba a ser un disco de un Yankee Country cantando a un águila y termino siendo como un enganchado de punk-rock/pop-punk. Definitivamente una banda de sonido de un juego de Play 1
Favorite Track: Fiddle Riddle
very much a “pixies” ass album. Which of course you would expect from the leader of the pixies. Some loud punky songs, some great pop songs. Some weird songs. Overall a good album. This is where half stars would come in handy. It’s better than an 3, but I wouldn’t put it ant an 4. Over an hour always seems a bit long doing this though!
Another pixies/Frank Black record! This must be one of the most popular artists in the book - next to Bowie. Gave the record away years ago. Better than his Pixies stuff, but still not great.
Black Francis is better than frank black
4.75
I think there is a magic when you get certain people together to play music. The Pixies are evidence of this. There is a gestalt quality to the ingredients of Francis/Deal/Santiago/Lovering that I don't think really happens in any other configuration. I've mostly disregarded Frank Black's solo work. I remember seeing a video for "Hold Onto Your Ego" on 120 Minutes in the 90s and being pretty underwhelmed. Chalk it up to a boring first impression. I have listened to enough of his solo work since to gain an a more complete impression, but then again, nothing I've heard has really left that impression or felt iconic enough to stick. That said, Black Francis is clearly an extremely integral part of the Pixies. Listening to this you can really hear how much he shapes the Pixies sound. But this is a Frank Black record and it's supposed to be distinct: I get it. This album is fun, but it would benefit from some trimming. A lot of these songs feel super short and half-complete, and others are clearly b-sides. I think it could be so much punchier if it were a little shorter. Highlights: "Thalassocracy", "Calistan", and "Two Reelers" (which feels like two different songs). Perhaps everyone knows "Headache" as the big single, but it doesn't really hit me the same way. I do love how he pronounces "Los Angeles" with a hard g in the bridge on "Olé Mulholland" the way my grandfather used to. Like a lot of the alternative rock from the 90s, I hear a lot of Lou Reed influence going on here in the vocal phrasings. Overall, this sounds so much like an artifact of its 1994 time and place, especially "Freedom Rock", which I immediately put on my 90s Alt Parking Lot playlist.
Fun alt-rock/grunge vibes. Solid album, 3-3.5 stars.
This was a weird album. He plays with discord like it's his favorite toy. There were a couple of songs that were boppy for me, but as a whole, I could never listen to this album or any song on it and not miss anything in my life.
A easy album by the Pixies front man. Kind of drags on long, nothing stands out, though I could see myself enjoying it more with future listens
I'm pretty so-so on the Pixies aside from the big hits, and I definitely didn't know about this solo album, so I was surprised by how much I liked this. It seems more approachable than the Pixies, and it left me wanted to explore the Pixies universe more.
Meh! It's OK, but nothing special.
enjoyed it
Schmissig, aber hat nicht die Klasse der ersten Pixies-Alben
its like punk rock without the edge. Its not anything I would go out of my way to listen to. Too warbly in a lot of places, also the vocals are just annoying for most of it. I think a lot of my displeasure comes from just disliking the genre itself, so I cant hold that against it. Calistan really blows though.
Not for me!
Too much Peter, Paul and Mary. Not enough Hüsker Dü.
Always been a big fan of the Pixies but this was my first time listening to Frank's solo music. It's not too bad but it definitely doesn't compare to his stuff with the band. It's funny to me that this album cover was released the same year as that one Hole album.. Favorite track: Calistan
Enjoyed, good 90s vibe, lots of humor, not too into itself. Didn’t save any songs but didn’t skip any either.
Not a fan of Alt Rock and most of the songs are very Alt Rock. But a few of the songs I actually liked. Couldn't stand most though.
Not unenjoyable
Pixie Less.
do grow up
Ok. Lots of noise.
Nice grungey alt rock album from the 1990's. It's an enjoyable listen, and it reminds me at times of other acts that are great- like "(I Want to Live on An) Abstract Plain" sounds a little bit like Sonic Youth's great track "Incinerate". "Headache" sounds like a raw Beck song. Just learned that he's the singer of the Pixies. That makes sense! I kept listening and thinking "this voice sounds so familiar". Very cool! Unfortunately, I find that this album misses a lot of the big special moments that made bands from this era really special. I can sit and enjoy this record and next week I think it will be hard for me to remember any specific moments, or anything outside of what the overall sound was. It's a strong 3/5, mostly propped up by the first 7 songs. After that I think it falls off a bit.
Kwa stem soms net een soort Neil Young + J Mascis. Veel pit, variatie in tempo en intensiteit + allemaal lekker melodisch. Wel heeel veel tracks goddamn, maar toch aangenaam verrast. Beste: Abstract Pain / The Vanishing Spies / Speedy Marie / Headache / Bad, Wicked World Minste: Olé Mulholland Albumhoes: Great (ik zie wel steeds Frans Bauer als ik snel kijk.) 4/5
Ik had hier nooit van gehoord en moest even inkomen maar daarna kon ik het wel waarderen.
Had het lastig bij deze rating! Kende heel de artiest niet, maar hier mn belangrijkste takes: - awful album cover. Frans Bauer met een eigen interpretatie van paus cosplay. Doe maar niet - Lang album, maar ik bleef toch geboeid. Heb m zelfs een tweede keer opgezet toen die af was (niet in 1 sessie) - voelt alsof deze plaat veel zeroes bands heeft beïnvloed. Dacht aan Franz Ferdinand, the Strokes, Kaiser Chiefs. Maar ook recenter aan Carseat Headrest wat hier best aan lijkt te grenzen - veel nummers hebben best originele riffs en stukjes die gewoon erg cool zijn
Too long. Way too long. This is another one of those albums I'm not turning off, but I don't really care to listen to again. There are a few good to very good tracks, and a few that are annoying. Nothing great, nothing terrible.
This is absurd but I actually kind of liked it. It started getting old at around the halfway mark though.
Das isch mal durchschnittsware. Biz weniger tracks und biz meh qualität negstmal bitte unbekannter Frank Black. Gämer aber doch 3 Years für dich, wills halt au nöd unhörbar isch
None of the songs were bad, but none were exceptional, either. Quite a forgettable album. I can't see why it would be one of the 1089 most notable albums.
Es imposible estar a la altura de cualquier disco de los Pixies. Me refiero, obviamente, a los Pixies hasta su primera disolución , tras el imprescindible Trompe le monde. Si bien hay quien considera este fenomenal disco el primero de Frank Black, basta con escuchar su verdadero debut (Frank Black) para entender que eso no es así. No ya porque falte Kim, sino porque los sonidos se van alejando del universo Pixies. Este segundo, Teenager of the year, es un disco obviado en su época que ha venido ganando reconocimiento con el tiempo. Tiene una virtud, se sostiene por sí mismo, y además el tiempo le sienta fenomenal. Como además no ha sido tan escuchado como cualquiera de la banda, pues siempre se agradece su reescucha. Presenta canciones buenas (Abstract Plain, Big red, Thalassocracy) , algunas muy buenas (Calistan, Two Reels) y otras que hubieran quedado mejor como caras B (Speedy Marie, Headache, Sir Rockaby, Freedom Rock...) y dejado un disco menos pesado y digerible. Otros discos suyos muy recomendables son el que hizo con The Catholics, Dog in the sand o Fast man Raider man. Sin embargo el 93 tuvo mejores cosas: Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space) de los Digable Planets. Además fue también el año de In Utero, Thirteen, Frosting on the beater, Siamese dream, Come on Feel the Lemonheads, Last splash, Gentlemen, Where You Been, los debuts de Björk, PJ Harvey, Liz Phair, The Cranberries, Counting Crows, Radiohead o Frank Black en solitario. Además de los últimos discos realmente buenos de algunos insignes grupos como fueron Zooropa, Songs of faith and devotion, Republic, Get a grip, dejando al margen bat out of hell... Incluso Are you gonna go my way, Cure for pain o Dream harder, New wave, Wild wood o One time, two times, three red light...
It has some great moments, a lot of weird moments, and some kind of annoying moments. Interesting album overall, but even after listening to it twice I’m not sure if it’s quite my thing.
Classic rock sound. I think this could have been in 4 territory but it’s too long and monotonous. If it were half the length with only the strongest songs it would have been more powerful.
so. many. songs. whyyyyy! i didn’t make it through on my first listen as it was late and it wasn’t the best music for my tired head. trying to dive back in i feel fully unmotivated because i just don’t really love this. it’s okay. not bad. just not great to me. i liked a few songs. calistan (really liked this one!) headache freedom rock (also really liked this one a lot!) two reelers had a really nice end to it. olé mulholland - kind of a banger! superabound - there was a part that reminded me of bob dylan xD
It’s aesthetic light rock. Not that kind i like but it has it’s own cool vibe. It sounds like fusion of Bowie and Elton John (but with less music, too much declamations)
It was fine. After a while it just all sounded the same.
Many of the songs feel like fragments, but there's a good force of rock driving throughout. This seems like a really creative guy who felt repressed by being in a band, so he's letting it all out in a solo project.
It's pretty good, however, as with most solo albums, it just makes me want to listen to a Pixies album. Plus, it is pretty long and doesn't have enough variation to keep it interesting.
It starts solid, but I dont get why this album needs to have 22 tracks in it. By the end I was so out of it, would be a great 10 track album, but it just didnt knew when or where to stop. You could listen to two great Pixies albums in the time you get to listen to this bloated album, that have some nice moments in it. The lyric about Pachinko is cheesy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG3WepgGiSk
Better than The Pixies?… 😬 Would possibly make it to a 4 if it wasn’t over an hour long. 3.5 in my other app
Sounds a bit like the Pixies…. Googles, ah that’s why, cool
This is fine, if unremarkable. I couldn’t hum you a single note from it, but I didn’t dislike it.
That's not my taste in music, but ok.
Still souds like the Pixies. Album not good or bad eally. 2.5/5
I was not expecting to enjoy today’s album, but here we are. It’s not as punkish as The Pixies but you can definitely hear that flavor throughout. Granted, it’s also about 25 minutes too long.
It’s not as good as Pixies is it. It’s amazing how there’s probably millions of albums to choose from and somehow we have at least two Pixies and one Frank Black album on the list. I love Doolittle but come on….
Not bad. Long way from surfer rosa.
Four stars for Headache. Three stars all around. Pixies>Frank Blank....except for post Deal Pixies in which case, Frank Wins despite himself. They should have just hung it up at that point rather than try to recreate that magic.
I had very few expectations when I saw the cover of this album, but it was a pleasant surprise. Ecclectic mix of decent songs. 3/5
This album stats relatively standard, then unfolds a certain charm with great hidden musical ideas under relatively standardized rock... only then to go back to sounding all a big standard... Yeah. Well. I might rate this album higher at some point but right now, I don't see it being better than average.
Black Francis (a.k.a. Frank Black) showing his musical chops here. Not compelling enough for me to want a second listen.
I liked some of the songs on this album. Wolf
What a talent Black Francis is!! The sheer volume and variety of songs is amazing. I think this album could have been broken out into two records. Great listen!
When it finds its groove this is cracking. 22 tracks means there’s a good number of less strong tracks on there that could have been dropped for a really tight, punky affair, but slips past it.
Interesting listen. Frank Black is a hugely talented songwriter, but this just didn't hit for me, and by "Pie in the Sky" I was more than ready for it to be over.
Strong start from the first couple tracks, but it lost me after that. This should have been edited down to 10 tracks, max.
2.5/5
Listened a couple times before I felt like I could actually put some thoughts down. It feels completely familiar without ever having heard it before. A good chunk of the album is an easy listen - if I had known this at the time, mid-90's teenage me would have been happy blasting this in my '85 Honda Civic. I was never into the Pixies - never even explored them, but in looking Frank Black up, realize that he's their lead. I don't know if that plays into this album or not, but just an interesting tidbit. Probably a 3.5 for me - would listen again.
Favorite songs: Pure Denizen of the Citizen Band, Calistan, Big Red, Ol Mulholland, Thalassocracy, The Vanishing Spies Least favorite songs: Two Reelers, Sir Rockaby, Fiddle Riddle, Pie in the Sky 3/5
it's neat, I enjoyed it for the most part, but I don't see why this is on the list. very Lou Reed vocals at times
I always struggle a bit with these albums that have like 20+ songs that are mostly under 3 minutes. That seems like such an odd choice to make when writing an album. Part of the problem with these kinds of albums is that it's hard to write 20+ distinct sounding songs in a short time for one record. This album definitely fell prey to that trap. I found myself kind of checking out about halfway through. It's fine, nothing remarkable or terrible to report. He should stick with the Pixies. 2.5/5
it insists upon itself
some fun stuff! i will admit that by the second half i was getting pretty tired of it. there’s some fun tongue in cheek stuff, and then there’s some things that could’ve stayed in the drafts. some good geeeetar though
Thought it was very Pixies, didn't realise it was the frontman. It's ok but I prefer the Pixies
Pre-listening thoughts: well I heard this guy was in the Pixies so that doesn't bode well for me Post/during listening thoughts: jesus guys can we stop the talk singing PLEASE!! Also why is every song like ringtone length. Literally that episode of Zach Stone that I'm 90% sure I've referenced in a review on here before and I'm 100% sure I will end up referencing again. But 22 songs is absurd actually. There were some good ones in here but I would be a lot more enticed to listen to this if it were shorter. Also this man looks too grown to be a teenager. 5/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: NO!! Fav tracks: Calistan, Headache, Superabound, Space is Gonna Do Me Good Least fav tracks: idk there were a lot of songs man. Not gonna take time to comb back thru 22 songs sorry!
ganz nicer 90s record aber nit so special
I was surprised to see a solo album from Black Francis under his alias, Frank Black, alongside the early Pixies records on this list. People must have been hungry for more of his work after the Pixies' initial breakup. I've certainly come to enjoy Francis's nonsensical songwriting, and I remember enjoying "Calistan" two months ago when it came up on my Spotify Discover Weekly playlist. With that all in mind, how did Teenager of the Year stack up? I'd say it's a good record, but it's not quite a great one. Francis continued his venture into the surf-rock-adjacent songwriting and construction, where at times, tracks like "Speedy Marie" and single "Headache" fit a more laid-back on the beach vibe. That's not to say there aren't bursts of chaotic energy like with the old Pixies sound; the opening onslaught of tracks from "Whatever Happened to Pong?" to "Calistan", and occasional tracks in the middle such as "Two Reelers", "Bad, Wicked World" and closer "Pie in the Sky" capture some of that wild spark Francis had been known for, the backing band was able to match his style decently and it's produced well. That said, we have reached the point where I have to draw attention to my two hangups with this album - it is longer and less energetic than those earlier Pixies records. Clocking in at over an hour, there is a sense purveying this record that Francis wanted to put as many songs together to distinguish himself from his earlier work. The problem is that with such a long runtime and some songs starting to run together in sound and style, there's only so much that could be reasonably accomplished without the album feeling bloated. I was starting to feel fatigued at the piano-driven reggae track "Fiddle Riddle", which at that point would have been the length of a Pixies record. Needless to say, some tracks should have been cut. I still enjoyed Teenager of the Year and continue to appreciate Francis as a songwriter. There are some good tracks in between the filler here. Cherry-pick your favorites and go from there.
Hadn’t heard any Frank outside of the Pixies. Wasn’t interested. But I like this and I’d listen again. Different sound from those days: less manic screeching (which I love, don’t misunderstand), more grounded, melodic and even a little countryfied. “Headache” stands out, but several tracks are repeatable. Sexy!
First impressions, is he the creepy looking guy on the cover? Started out just like something someone had put together on the type of get up you can sort out at home nowadays. But then his voice started to get to me. Very familiar, but can't place it. At times very like Neil Young, Iggy Pop and someone else who I now can't remember (I had this all typed out and saved, but they've deleted it. Grrrrrrrr!!!!!). Anyway it turned into a passable album. 3
I’d pretty much written this off before I started listening, so had it on in the background whilst doing other stuff. Found myself unconsciously enjoying it, so had to give it another listen with a bit of attention! I like this incarnation of Francis. The songs are varied and interesting, and his vocal style a lot more palatable.
This was a bit of a mixed bag, as in styles not quality. As with most artists I do tend to lose interest in them after 1, 2, 3 or if they are lucky 4 albums. Poor old Black Francis or whatever he chose to call himself on his solo albums fell into this category. I was impressed,as some of it was better than late Pixies work. I shall have to give it a few more listens though.
Black Francis from the Pixies. Solid album, voice is really on forefront here.
I hated this to start out but it did grow on me. Definitely too long for its own good, cut 1/3 of songs and runtime and this would be much better. 3/5
Dragged second half was better I liked it
pretty good. previously wouldn't have recognized Pixies' singer even though I've listened to them a lot. Favorite song: Headache
I got bad vibes from the album cover, so hopefully the music is decent. I would say this is similar to the last album we had. Not in style of music obviously, but just my general feeling of the songs. Some were good, some were meh. I thought the music itself was decent throughout but sometimes the vocals made the songs worse. However, there wasn't many songs that I particularly loved, so I would say this was a low 3.
Well that is some of the most unexpected and aggressive harmonica I have ever exposed my ears to -- and I say this having two young children. Whatever Happened to Pong is a weird tone setter of an opener. Almost feels like a less possessed Mr. Bungle. Two Reelers is a frantic, wonderful mess. Ole Mulholland is another standout -- plays a bit like a Modest Mouse song in the best of ways. General feeling is that this is a kooky album that is sometimes awesome, and sometimes just in the background. I'd say it runs long for its own good, but it'll take a few listens before I can give a score. Idk I keep losing focus during this one. Could be that I've got other shit going on, but more likely this just isn't doing it for me fully. I'm going with a soft 3 here, but I think this has the rare potential to swing from 2 to 4 depending on my mood.
Some good songs, some bad songs. Switched back and forth a lot from alternative to punk. Nothing more I can really say, low 3.
Interesting this is the lead man of the Pixies. What a terrible album cover. Really hated one of the earlier songs, only to go into some absolute jams, only to go into some more I wasn't really feeling. His voice doesn't really do it for me most of the time. Really fucking loving Freedom Rock. Kinda sounds like some old Strokes at certain points. Honestly if my dude could've whittled this down to a solid 35-40 minutes it was a possible 4, but the length just got me a bit bored.
enjoyable album, lot of songs but not long ones, would listen again
Sänger der Pixies
Mostly light hearted post punk frolic through a well constructed album. Fun but not groundbreaking
Wow the first 3 songs are bad. Next 3 are much better. Headache was a bit overhyped, not too bad tho. I like the Pixies, so I’m surprised I don’t like this that much (3)
Took me a couple of songs before I realized it was black Francis. Pixies are better
I had no idea Frank Black was the lead singer of the Pixies, but knowing that now makes this album click a bit more. Teenager of the Year is packed with quirky lyrics, off-kilter melodies, and that signature rawness you'd expect from someone with Pixies roots. There are definitely some solid moments scattered throughout, but it’s a long album and not everything lands. Some songs feel a bit like filler, while others are surprisingly catchy and fun. It’s worth a listen for fans of alt-rock weirdness, but it didn’t quite blow me away.
Yeah not bad, second half much better
Not bad, standard sorta frank black pixies type stuff
A little long but solid album
Although it did sound decent nothing really stood out to me. It's also a really long album and felt like some songs could have been cut. Definitely good moments but overall a little dull.
Not sure I really needed to hear this before I die, but not a bad way to spend an hour.
Hectic and upbeat. You can hear some Pixies in there still, and it's fun if you're in the right mood.
Some very good songs on here I thought although as double albums often do it goes on a bit
Never listened to Frank Black before other than his stuff with The Pixies. It was listenable. Halfway through and I have not really been moved by the music. Music was decent enough just did not move me.
Absolutely loved Pixies until they reunited and decided to make new music without Kim Deal, but I've never fully explored Frank Black's solo work. I saw him at least once when it was him and The Catholics, and maybe one other time without them, but unsure on that. And while I've known of this album since 1994, I never picked it up. Listening to it today, just over 30 years later, I've got mixed feelings on it. There are some truly excellent songs on here, and I appreciate that he's just making whatever music he wants without being limited to a single style. That yields some interesting results. On the other hand, the quality of the songs doesn't feel consistent across the album, a fact not helped by how long this thing is. If you cut it down to the best songs, it'd be less than 45 minutes instead of over an hour, and you'd have a far more engaging and rewarding album experience. Maybe I'll figure out which songs specifically and make a playlist of them so I can enjoy them without the weaker songs that feel like filler. Or maybe not. Anyway, glad I've finally given this a listen even if I didn't love it.
meh 3/5
Fun album, Black Francis is great, some gems on here. Still got it, post pixies.
This was kinda cool, didn't quote live up to my expectations.
Felt a bit different than any rock album I've listened to previously, but it's still just rock.
An interesting one! I can definitely tell it's not the best thing since sliced bread, but does it deserve an entry on this list? Probably, yeah. It's just rock, but it feels both accessible and different. It goes on too long for my taste. Somewhere in the middle of those 22 tracks is something that I really like, but it's hidden, and I'm unsure if I want to search for it too long. And I think I'd like to find it, but over an hour of songs? Really? Somewhere between 3 and 4 for me.
Like a lot of music of this type, I didn’t want to turn it off halfway through, but I’m not sure I’d seek it out again. It’s like my interest in the Pixies begins and ends at Monkey Gone To Heaven - I don’t mind their stuff, but more than one track at a time becomes a chore.
Could not get into the vocals. His voice was too annoying for me. But the songs are fun and effective. "Calistan" and "Two Reelers" are my personal favorites on that record
I was disappointed: a diverse collection of songs but it was very hit and miss with lots of misses.
I was a huge fan of the Pixies but somehow never listened to this album before. There were some great songs buried in here like Calistan, Freedom Rock, Two Reelers, Superbound. Some that were different styles but not as effective, like Fiddle Riddle. White Noise Maker actually made me LOL. Need one of those to drown out today's news. Overall the album was a bit inconsistent despite the gems.
Not a style I typically listen to, and not quite as strong as the Pixies work, but clearly part of the same arc. Not sure I'll be adding this to my listening list, and somewhat erratic in quality, but overall decent.
Never heard any FB solo stuff but this is better than Kim-less Pixies. Decent though too long. 22 songs jeez.
This sounds like the natural extension of where the Pixies were headed before they disbanded. That's not a compliment by the way. For me, each Pixies album was slightly worse than the one before it. They started at an extreme high, with Surfa Rosa, Dolittle was also superb, Bossanova wasn't so great, and Trompe le Monde was a bit shit. Having said that, even though this album is twice as long as it needs to be, and half of it could be cut with no loss whatsoever, the other half isn't bad at all. I'm going with 3 stars.
'I'm not black like Barry White, I am white like Frank Black is'.... Anders dan deze poëtische tekstregel van de Bloodhound Gang had ik nog nooit van deze gast gehoord. Ik begrijp ook wel een beetje waarom. Hij probeert wat te rocken, maar het gaat meer ernaast dan precies goed. Anderen hebben dit beter gedaan. (Het scoort wel wat hoger dat die rommel van de Pixies waar hij eerder bij zat. Ach ja.)
Of course it doesn't really come close to the big Pixies Records, but still very enjoyable. If it wasn't for the loong tracklist I think it would get a 4 star rating, but as it is I think a 3 is more like it.
Sounds like the pixies singer LOL!
Not bad, but nowhere near Pixies material
Such a 3. Generic and whatever idk I dont wanna listen to it anymore.
Better than 2, not quite a 3 but feeling generous today.
enjoyable but unmemorable
It’s curious to ponder what if the Pixies kept making music in the early 90s. This albums has its moments, probably “Headache” the best among them
Never recognised the name Frank Black but knew I recognised the voice. Really catchy tunes and now I know who he is I realised why I liked him.
ahh, never heard this but after reading he's from the Pixies, got me interested. not really for me. very cool though.
Own a couple of Pixie albums from back when they came out, but never a big enough fan to have gone into Franks solo work. It’s what I expected, I enjoyed it as still have soft spot for 80s early 90s US indie/college rock, it possibly suffers from that cd age of being overlong which was a general thing back then. Great cover.
I was never really a Pixies fan, which is weird because they were theoretically right up my street back in the day. Anyhoo, for this album Black Francis became Frank Black and released this mish-mash of post punk, surf-guitar, garage and reggae infused songs. It clicked into place for me on the track Ole Mulholland where I realised that he was channelling the spirit of Lou Reed on a song about the LA water system of the 1920s. Infrastructure-tastic!
The least we can say is that Black Francis was cheap on this one. It's all over the place and (too much) full of ideas. It changes genre in every song or so, sometimes sounding like the Pixies, sometimes almost like country, sometimes almost like soft rock or jazzy... It's sometimes brilliant, it's sometimes a bit WTF -- but let's say he's trying -- he lost me more than a couple of times but then I'm hooked again. Cut the thing in half, and it would have been a banger. Still worth the listen.
solid but just makes me want to listen to the pixies could i write poetry to this? n
A fine album from Frank Black/Black Francis, only surpassed by all of the (original lineup) Pixies and his first solo record. Additionally, this recording suffers from an affliction common to many of the time. As CD technology afforded more space for music than a typical LP record, too many artists felt the need to fill the added 20-some minutes with unworthy tracks.
Wish it was the Pixies
It's good but not great. Too many songs are too similar to each other.
Rather longwinded and doesn't have the same 'in-your-face' energy as most of the Pixies stuff I've heard from this list. 5/10
Kept me entertained but I don’t think I’ll be returning
Pretty noisy for me. 2.5
Not bad. Songs were enjoyable
There's quite a lot going on here but it doesn't add up to a whole heap of coherence. Couple of minor indie hits, a handful of other goodies, a lot of sketches and experiments.
Fallacy of composition in action. Frank Black is a vital component of the Pixies, and the Pixies punched far above their weight to produce something vastly better than the sum of its parts. The fallacy is that, because Black was a part of something amazing, by himself he will be amazing. Sadly, this is not the case. I still enjoy this album, but I like the Pixies better.
Everything about this album feels too pretentious. And I can’t tell if he’s doing it ironically or not.
Solo album by former Pixies member Frank Black - it's very 90s alternative rock, with some good tunes and interesting sounds, but it isn't really memorable overall and it is too long - perhaps because the songs are fast and energetic is seems ever longer. Does it really belong on this list?
I mean, I like this album, but I wouldn't *ever* tell someone that you need to hear his before you die. Just give anyone Pixies' first three albums and you're sorted with Frank Black. Best Tracks: Whatever Happened to Pong?; Headache; Two Reelers
I don’t really like his voice but the guitars very good
Quintessential early 90's Rock, punk sound from someone I thought I hadn't heard of. This album predates Marcy Playground, but reminded me a lot of Marcy Playground specifically.
é até legalzinho, mas me pegou num dia meio ruim
Well, I'm annoyed that this album makes the list and The Breeders didn't, Last Splash is a five star effort. This is good not gold. Frank is a crusty fella but talent still shines out on this.
La première toune était vraiment bonne, mais sur un album de plus d’une heure, l’énergie n’était plus là