Post Pixies, Black's still got the goods

Imagine you're walking down a street in some crappy suburb--Englewood, Covina, Arlington, take your pick--and you're not being harassed by rent-a-cops. Suddenly one of the garages, usually housing nothing more than a virgin Ford Explorer, opens up to reveal that most hallowed of American institutions: the garage band. You stop to listen, because hey, this is Valley Stream and there's nothing else to do. The band starts to play, and they're really good. They sound like you'd hoped your favorite band would when you saw them in concert: in command of the power of their instruments as if this is how they always play, even when they're recording an album. That's what it's like to hear Frank Black and the Catholics. It's rock at its self-righteous best, reveling in its own honesty.

Pistolero is Black's fifth post-Pixies album, his second as leader of the Catholics. Once again, he has recorded the entire album live to two-track, in less than a week. Nobody else really does it like this anymore, and it has to be heard to be understood. The Catholics record while playing all at once, with no overdubs, multi-track shenanigans, or professional haircuts--nothing but guitar, bass, drum, and voice working together. But Black's music is by no means banal or stylistically uniform just because he doesn't use keyboards or a didgeridoo.

"Western Star" is a trademark soaring Black-style rock ballad, whose bridge has an energy that couldn't be duplicated with normal studio recording methods. The Britpoppy "Billy Radcliffe" sits comfortably next to the majestic metalfest of "Smoke Up" and the '50s sensibility of "I Want Rock & Roll."

The man who did more to invent "modern" or "alternative" rock than any American still playing today does not believe in limiting his music. As fascinated by songs' structure as by their style, Black has always been a master of the multi-stage song, flouting verse-chorus-verse convention. On Pistolero, "I Switched You" and "So Hard To Make Things Out" showcase his ability to write these miniature, pure rock symphonies.

As leader of the legendary Pixies, Black enjoyed a fame he has yet to recapture, even though he and his music have continued to grow for the better over his post-Pixies albums. It's past time to put the Pixies to bed. Anyone who considers himself a Pixies fan and does not give an album like Pistolero a chance should be banished to a life of 'NSync or Creed. The Pixies were beyond great, but the guy who wrote and sang all the songs has kept going, and he's only improved with age.

The Catholics aren't half-bad, either. Pistolero features the best backing vocals since somebody named Kim was in Frank's band. And when was the last time you listened to a rock album and actually noticed the drummer because he didn't suck? Scott Boutier is one of the best in the business.

Despite the title of his lament on the current state of rock, "I Think I'm Starting To Lose It," Black continues to produce some of the best real rock around. Lose it? Maybe eventually. But as that song and so many others prove, right now he's one of the last ones who still has it. (spinART)

--Daniel McGarry

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