Black Francis - Bluefinger

Genre rock Publisher Cooking Vinyl External Links Official Black Francis Official Cooking With Vinyl

Bluefinger marks the return of Black Francis, the sometimes-moniker of the Pixies veteran alternatively known as Frank Black or Charles Thompson. This return mirrors his musical resurgence inspired by Dutch artist and musician Herman Brood, to whom the album is a tribute.

Brood, known as well for his drug use as for his music, took his own life in a leap from the Amsterdam Hilton in 2001, after having been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Images of sex, drugs, rock and roll, and death permeate Bluefinger, as they did Brood's life, but the bleakness does not overpower the mix of emotions. Francis's triumphant work is complex and replete, an intoxicating concoction shooting freewheeling ebullience, sardonic wit, and energy into the more obvious melancholy notes.

"Captain Pasty," kicks off the album with a glorious, driving bass line, propelling the song and the album on a trajectory worthy of the legacies of Brood, the Pixies, and Frank Black in any of his various incarnations.

"Threshold Apprehension" conjures metaphors of sex, heroin use, and what it might have been like balancing on the precipice, moments before taking that leap in '01. The undeniable beat may be dance-y but maintains its edge in lyrical content and manic urgency.

"Test Pilot Blues" likewise evokes images of contemplation before the final jump, going over the pre-flight checklist: "Breathing mask, gloves and leather, stations of the cross/ I got no wings full of feathers, just my engines and a little sauce." "I've seen blue you've never seen" conveys a spectrum of interpretation, from depression, to the keen eye of a painter, to the unmistakable hue of the sky seen from midair seconds before impact.

"Lolita," "Your Mouth into Mine," and "Discotheque 36" keep listeners on their toes by veering musically a bit more mainstream. The songs incorporate slightly more traditional instrumentation and channel flashes of Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, and Leonard Cohen. Francis then heads back towards the dark and addiction with "Tight Black Rubber," his ode to smack paraphernalia.

Brood's story is most overtly sketched in "Angels Come to Comfort You." Francis paints a picture of the artist as "Prettier than Brando/ He was punker than punk/ Slave to rock and roll/ And a slave to junk." He details such particulars as Brood's full name, his careers as piano player and painter, and the location of his demise. The song's coda fades eerily from the haunting intonations of Pixiesian angels to siren song to the harsh, distinctive blare of European ambulances.

Francis's cover of Brood's "You Can't Break a Heart and Have It," is faithful to the spirit of the straight-forward rock original, while simultaneously infused with his signature discord.

The strummy, melodic pop sensibility of "She Took All the Money" nicely contrasts the bleak resignation conveyed in the lyrics, while the musical form and lyrical function of "Bluefinger" dovetail perfectly in palpable desperation.