Black Francis- Bluefinger
November 30, 2007
Black Francis
Bluefinger
September 11th 2007
Cooking Vinyl
Dubbed after the blauwvingers, a nickname given to the citizens of Zwolle, capital city of Overijssel, Netherlands, Bluefinger is conceptually driven and marks a return of Charles Thompson, aka Frank Black now Black Francis, to the indie rock limelight. The record title is a postmortem reference to a particular blauwvinger named Herman Brood, an artist and musician born in the Overijssel city who committed suicide after he was scheduled to die in only a few short months. It is Brood who, through influence and inspiration, escorts Frank Black back to Black Francis. The album discusses drug addiction and sexual appetite, reflecting the artistic trademark of Herman Brood’s expression of hedonistic thought.
This quasi-possession of sorts has produced what is arguably the best release from the post-Pixies era Frank Black Francis. His renewed interest in the low-life persona has made for an excellent record and as far as resuscitations of deities go, Bluefinger measures Charles Thompson to the standard he himself constructed twenty years ago. He has left the musings of UFO’s and his not-oft discussed illusions of abduction that themed releases following Bossanova from his days with The Pixies. While the group has in the past few years reunited for short tours and events, next to nothing has accumulated in the way of new music. It feels as though the reconciliation that has occurred is no more than the satiation of new fandom. They were drafted by admirers, many of whom were not born at the time of the release of Come On Pilgrim.
The problem is that The Pixies are still to this day are so identified with independent countercultural music, that they are name-dropped at parties. Doing so puts you “in the know” even after all this time and exposure. They are the band that everyone teaches their friends to love, but that by now everyone already knows about. They were the Martin Luthers of the late-eighties music reformation and they’ve been called to give it another go. I think that Bluefinger represents more than a simple retrograde reclamation of Black Francis, it is a persona awakening. It is not a reenactment or a backward looking attempt to be what he once was. Rather, Black Francis has shown that it is he that is inspired. Instead of thriving off of the recently invigorated and trendy adoration of his “pixie” front, he comes to his listeners in awe of someone else. Herman Brood in some ways represents the humility with which Black Francis was revived.
Bluefinger abandons abduction and extra terrestrials to engage the dirty human stories still stuck in Black Francis’ imagination. What is alien is no longer described in relation to science fiction, but in terms of real isolation. Whether or not The Pixies will ever again successfully function as a creative force is not entirely clear. Black Francis has conceived of a way to meaningfully exist without The Pixies. Perhaps, after all is said and done, it will be their best chance for reintegration.
The Pixies
Come on Pilgrim- 1987
Surfer Rosa- 1988
Doolittle- 1989
Bossanova- 1990
Trompe le Monde- 1991
Frank Black
Frank Black- 1993
Teenager of the Year- 1994
The Cult of Ray- 1996
Frank Black and the Catholics- 1998
Pistolero- 1999
Sunday Sunny Mill Valley Groove Day- 2000, not released
Dog in the Sand- 2001
Black Letter Days- 2002
Devil’s Workshop- 2002
Show Me Your Tears- 2003
Frank Black Francis- 2004
Honeycomb- 2005
Fast Man Raider Man- 2006
Christmass- 2006
