Frank Black and the Catholics
Dog in the Sand
[What Are Records]
Rating: 7.8
Somewhere along the line, Frank Black decided to abandon the idea of being a
"major" artist who makes "major" artistic statements. In the process, he
morphed into a true road warrior, endlessly crisscrossing the barrooms and
honky-tonks of America, and carving out a niche, turning out a live-to-two-track
album every year or so.
His last two full-lengths with the Catholics were relatively well-crafted and
invigorating, though it's hard not to miss
the wild creativity of the Pixies or his early solo work. By this time, though,
even Frank may be chafing at the limitations of their bar-band sound, staunch
as he is in refusing to do overdubs or even edits in the recording process.
Fortunately, there are just enough tweaks to that process this time out to
enliven the resulting album, making it his most diverse and listenable since
Teenager of the Year.
The most notable change on this record is the induction of his former producer
and keyboardist Eric Drew Feldman to the Catholics, a veteran of Captain
Beefheart's Magic Band and Pere Ubu. His contribution mainly consists of
tasteful grand piano and Hammond organ, though the odd Rhodes piano or synth
flourish crops up now and then. Fellow Magic Band alumnus Moris Tepper and
ex-Pixie Joey Santiago also turn up to play guitar on the record. The result
is that Frank gets to flesh out his songs with an expanded sonic palette.
While neither as polished as his self-titled debut or as sonically diverse as
its follow-up, it adds a much-needed freshness to the proceedings. Producer
Nick Vincent keeps everything crisp and tidy, with as many as eight people
playing on any given track.
Dog in the Sand plays as a true classicist rock 'n' roll album, while
neither resorting to cliches nor sounding reactionary. The main reference
point seems to be Exile on Main Street-era Stones and early Bowie, and
all the tracks share a rootsy feel, accented by Rich Gilbert's frequent use of
a pedal steel guitar. Happily, there are enough stylistic flourishes to keep
things interesting. The opener, "Blast Off" begins like your typical slow
Catholics track before shifting into Black's most peppy and angular riff in
years. His lyrical genius makes appearances, too, with lines like, "I'm in a
Beckett trance from all the chemicals." Still, the track drags on just a bit
too long, making one regret that no edits were allowed.
"I've Seen Your Picture," magnifies the Rolling Stones influence; when Black
pronounces "away" in the chorus as "uh-waayy-yeee," he's a dead ringer for
Mick. "Robert Onion," which features Joey Santiago on guitar, comes the
closest to the good old Boston post-punk, though it sounds more like Mission
of Burma than his former band. And the irrepressibly hooky "If It Takes All
Night" demonstrates exactly the kind of purity and spirit that one might hope
to capture in a live environment.
Frank Black indulges his obsession with obscure bits of California and Los
Angeles history in his ode to California's first Socialist collective on
"Llano del Rio" and the excellent "St. Francis Dam Disaster," which recounts
an early 20th century incident that resulted in a wall of water cascading 53
miles across the California countryside to the sea. On the latter, Black
counts down the miles as the water devastates thousands, and Feldman's piano
work gives it a tragic feel. Often, though, Black's lyrics remain willfully
obscure, as Frank eats dictionaries for breakfast.
Black has made comments recently that indicate he doesn't consider the
Catholics his "permanent" backing band. Though this record is hardly a sonic
breakthrough, at no point does it sound exactly like anything he's done
before. It's refreshing if only because he hasn't allowed himself to get
stuck in a rut, and because it dispels the feeling that he might have been
growing complacent. Though there's no denying his most groundbreaking days
are probably past, it's nice to know that his future still promises to be
anything but predictable.
-D. Erik Kempke