Album Summary
Teenager of the Year is the second solo studio album by American musician Frank Black. The album was released in 1994 by 4AD in the United Kingdom and Elektra Records in the United States. It was co-produced by former Pere Ubu member Eric Drew Feldman, who also played keyboards on the album. Teenager also features work by several backing musicians, including Lyle Workman, Moris Tepper and Black's Pixies bandmate Joey Santiago. The album reached No. 2 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart and No. 131 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1994. The single "Headache" reached No. 10 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart that year.Although not originally well-received, the record is now widely praised by both critics and fans. The album is often cited as the high-point of Francis' post-Pixies catalogue, and was ranked No. 94 on Pitchfork's "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s".
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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
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Overly long, cut it in half and it's a great album, just needs to remove the bloat. I don't know enough Pixies to compare and say whether this is better or worse, but I get the sense that more people would lean into the work of the Pixies as superior.
Pretty forgettable and it was such a long album
65
Eh. I'm fine not listening about pong.
Very Pixies-like, albeit minus the leavening influence of Kim Deal. If you tend to like the Pixies, you will probably like this. Plenty of good tunes abound. With some judicious editing, there is probably a five star album in there.
Knallige Ideen, schräger Humor, viel Tempo – aber auch ein Album, das sich manchmal in seiner eigenen Verrücktheit verliert. Einige Songs zünden sofort, andere rauschen vorbei wie Skizzen. Insgesamt charmant, aber nicht konstant stark genug für mehr als solide drei Sterne.
It was nice to listen to some solo Frank, and gave me more appreciation for his songwriting even if I think musically I enjoyed it less than Pixies recordings. There were a lot of great songs on this album (like “Superabound” and “Space is Gonna do me Good”) but one too many out-of-key instrumental solos. An album has to have a reason to be longer than an hour, and this collection of tracks didn’t feel tight enough to justify the duration. 3.5 stars rounded down.
When this album showed up, I was reluctant to listen and began to force feed myself some Frank Black. I didn’t know who Frank Black was, but I do now. This album really surprise me. I enjoyed half of it very much, the interchanging genres kept things fresh and the lyrics while simple at times, kept me interested in what was coming next. Towards the end, mainly the last six tracks or so, I got bored and everything began to feel repetitive. My 4.5 star rating for this album went down to a 3.5 but I will give it a 4 overall.
7/10
ehh it was alright some saves but it didn’t speak to me
Ok
it was great but just too too long - love the singer’s voice btw
Nit bad.
no bad songs, some great!
Nothing grabbed me as much as his Pixies stuff but it was OK. The range of styles is impressive but still coherent, and for a double album it didn't really drag.
Interesting. I nearly abandoned this after the first two tracks. But then it became quite good. How odd.
Started off horrible but actually gradually got much better and by the end I was enjoying myself. Glad I was trapped in my car!
Remember being disappointed when I first heard this. Just wasn't the Pixies. A lot of tracks, none bad but nothing blows away. a bit of CD era bloat. 3.5 rounded down Heard before? Some Owned: Np, 105/401 (26%) Will I get: Maybe
This album has a handful of bangers on it for sure, but ultimately overstays its welcome. Really wouldn't consider it a "must listen."
OK... Enjoy a lot of pixies, not as much stuck here.
Fajne do autobusu.⚡️
Not much range on this one. Fine overall but it was bang average for me.
I was positively surprised. I actually liked it better than Pixies albums I listen to before this. It's rock, a kind of soft grunge, but the melodies are very creative, much nicer to listen to than others of this kind.
This was adequate without being outstanding. The range of styles, the quality of the vocals and the length of the album (yet another double, with the usual difficult-to-sustain quality issues) didn't thrill me. A couple of good tracks. Meh.
I enjoyed it more than the Pixies music from his previous work but still fairly mediocre in my opinion, will not revisit.
Good album, a bit long 3.5 stars bordering onto 4