Artist: Grand Duchy
Album: Petits Fours
Year: 2009
Grade: 3 pretzels
Charles Thompson has been a busy man this year. The former Pixies frontman, who lives under a number of aliases including Black Francis and Frank Black, has two new albums coming out this month that he was somehow involved in. Today, I’m going to be reviewing them back to back. First up, we have Petits Fours by Grand Duchy, Thompson’s new band with his wife Violet Clark.
The first thing that struck me about this album was its overt similarities to some of Thompson's work with Pixies. The same combination of Thompson’s yelpy singing and sweeter, female harmonies is utilized across most of the nine songs here. It seems like Clark has stepped into the role Kim Deal used to play in Pixies, balancing Thompson’s erratic tendencies. The music also resembles some of Pixies’ later work, with plenty of surf guitar licks and sproingy basslines. All in all, this is probably the most Pixies-ish music Thompson has made since the 1990s.
At the same time, Petits Fours is very much Pixies-lite. Thompson never reaches the over-the-top extremes that have characterized his work over the years. The songs are fun and quirky, but there’s nothing even in the same ballpark as his material with Pixies. Clark, for her part, delivers some nice vocals, but doesn’t ever really stand out on her own. She definitely sounds lost in the shadow of her husband. It’s hard to say what exactly she contributed to the album beyond vocals.
Generally, the album feels like a nice, casual side project thrown together in a recording studio over the course of a weekend. The sunny “Lovesick” is a nice little pop song, but it doesn’t seem to carry any weight. Now, there’s nothing wrong with some charming, lightweight summer music, but I can’t help but wish for a bit more substance from someone as prolific and edgy as Thompson. The dark “Black Suit” (which is essentially a recycled version of Pixies' "Gouge Away") is the closest Grand Duchy come to a great song on this album and it still sounds like it’s missing the necessary spark. Petits Fours is plenty of fun, but without anything making the songs jump out of your speakers, it’s ultimately forgettable.
The first thing that struck me about this album was its overt similarities to some of Thompson's work with Pixies. The same combination of Thompson’s yelpy singing and sweeter, female harmonies is utilized across most of the nine songs here. It seems like Clark has stepped into the role Kim Deal used to play in Pixies, balancing Thompson’s erratic tendencies. The music also resembles some of Pixies’ later work, with plenty of surf guitar licks and sproingy basslines. All in all, this is probably the most Pixies-ish music Thompson has made since the 1990s.
At the same time, Petits Fours is very much Pixies-lite. Thompson never reaches the over-the-top extremes that have characterized his work over the years. The songs are fun and quirky, but there’s nothing even in the same ballpark as his material with Pixies. Clark, for her part, delivers some nice vocals, but doesn’t ever really stand out on her own. She definitely sounds lost in the shadow of her husband. It’s hard to say what exactly she contributed to the album beyond vocals.
Generally, the album feels like a nice, casual side project thrown together in a recording studio over the course of a weekend. The sunny “Lovesick” is a nice little pop song, but it doesn’t seem to carry any weight. Now, there’s nothing wrong with some charming, lightweight summer music, but I can’t help but wish for a bit more substance from someone as prolific and edgy as Thompson. The dark “Black Suit” (which is essentially a recycled version of Pixies' "Gouge Away") is the closest Grand Duchy come to a great song on this album and it still sounds like it’s missing the necessary spark. Petits Fours is plenty of fun, but without anything making the songs jump out of your speakers, it’s ultimately forgettable.
"She definitely sounds lost in the shadow of her husband. It’s hard to say what exactly she contributed to the album beyond vocals."
ReplyDeleteHow about:
DRUMS
BASS
KEYBOARDS
LYRICS (SEEING STARS, LOVESICK, VOLCANO)
MUSIC (BLACK SUIT, LONG SONG, COME ON OVER TO MY HOUSE.)
Idiot.