Frank Black and the Catholics rock!
Said nobody, ever, but you know, they should!
Well, I definitely did. But people tend to forget, I think, that the post-Pixies stuff (well, post the original Pixies run anyway) of one Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson III was often of a delightfully raw nature and following three fine solo records, this self-titled debut was the apotheosis of such a sound.
‘All My Ghosts‘ comes roaring at you from the speakers immediately, full of vibrancy and dripping with sweat, followed by the equally urgent ‘Back To Rome‘ that implied that our illustrious frontman had been binging on his old Replacements records, before ‘Do You Feel Bad About It‘ has the commerciality of The Cars in the mid-seventies, coupled with the dirt and squalor of The Stooges.
That triple whammy was a heck of a way to introduce your new band, leaving you barely time to catch your breath. ‘Dog Gone‘ breaks things up a bit with its gentler, almost lullaby-like bent, but then we’re back to to the driving rhythms and alt rock musings of ‘I Gotta Move‘.
Arguably, the next track is the absolute pinnacle of this strong release – the title ‘I Need Peace‘ being completely at odds with its raucous guitars and almost proggy twists and turns in places. It’s certainly not one for the faint-hearted, and neither, for that matter is ‘King And Queen Of Siam‘ which sounds like Mick and Keef got fucked up on heavy drugs and decided to write a song before passing out. And I mean that in the most positive way possible, just in case you wondered. ‘Six Sixty Six‘, which is arguably where the idea that Frank Black and the Catholics were more of an Americana/country band came from (I have actually heard them described as that on more than one occasion), but the truth is that there was always a bit of ‘roots music’ underlying Frank Black‘s work; it’s just more subtle in the earlier stuff. For what it’s worth, the track is an awful lot of fun and, despite sticking out like a sore thumb, somehow still feels like it absolutely belongs there.
Harder hitting is the ferocious ‘Solid Gold‘ and then we get the out and out classic that is ‘Steak ‘n’ Sabre‘, feeling for all the world like a long, weary journey across the United States. No idea whether that was the intention or not, but it’s kind of like the slacker dropout version of ‘Hotel California‘. Finally, ‘Suffering‘ comes across like a 2-track demo version of a Hüsker Dü song and ‘Man Who Was Too Loud‘, which, ironically, given its placing as the last track on the record, is the most “Frank Black By Numbers” thing here. Ah well, it’s still enjoyable enough, but my personal view is that it’s the one sticking point that prevents it being a perfect album.
This is the first ever re-issue of their self titled album as a standalone vinyl release – a half speed master (which improves the sound dramatically of an already brilliant record) and is gorgeously packaged complete with a great looking lyric insert that is perfect for idiots like me who just love to try singing along with everything. Almost perfect. Almost.
Frank Black and the Catholics is released on 19th January through Demon.
