Search - Frank Black, Catholics :: Dog in the Sand

Rock with a brain

Greg Brady | Capital City | 04/18/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Many other reviewers have said it, but I will too since the analogy is good: throw the Stones into a blender with some steel guitar..add a thesaurus and some obscure literary/cultural references and you've got this album. This one was cut with a back to basics mentality: live, straight to tape without overdubbing.



HIGHLIGHTS:

Far and away, "If It Takes all Night" (which was played on the radio here if not in sections of the U.S. other reviewers are from) is the track here that fully catches fire. "St. Francis Dam Disaster" has the feel (if not the sound) of a folk standard about a killer flood.("A cascade down to Santa Clara way/Near sixty feet high/Now she's a mile wide/It was clear she was going far away/And whole towns were too/A few got lucky in Piru") "I've Seen Your Picture" is a tribute to the ubiquity of commerce with Black doing his best Mick Jagger pout. "Robert Onion" with its line "Makes me feel so tired/Another layer and layers and layer, oh no/Robert can you find your way?/Show me the way to come" is probably self-referencing its inscrutability. It's great wordplay that incorporates mythology (siren, possibly Diana), chess (Zugzwang), and marine lore (Jack-Tar, cinnabar may also be a reference to a coral reef since cinnabar is a reddish mineral). "Bullet" also delves into myth. "Swimmer" apparently derives from a true story of a person headed toward "the latitudes" (Horse latitudes..a calm area of the sea in the Southern hemisphere)..maybe somewhat of a merman as he's adept at "Finding all the edible/Prize of the sea"? Nicely poetic if a bit odd.



LOW POINTS:

"Blast Off" is a mildly enjoyable Stonesish low-key rocker but it goes on WAY past necessity. Get out the razor blade and edit that puppy somewhere around the 5 minute mark. "Dog in the Sand" is a bit weak lyrically.



BOTTOM LINE:

Definitely one that will have you reaching for the dictionary, but some very good tunes here. If you want basic no-frills rock with a bigger IQ behind it, this might be your ticket."

If it takes all night...

Howlinw | California, USA | 11/30/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Last week I saw Frank Black and his band play at a club downtown. By this point in his career, the man has a huge catalog of great songs stretching back to the 80s. Frank opened the show with an acoustic set, some material from "Honeycomb" and some startling interpretations of old Pixies material. Then the band came onstage, plugged in, and lanched into some raunchy, Stonesy, bluesy raw rock. The highlights for me were the songs from this disc. This was something of a comeback album for Frank, although he hadn't really gone anywhere to speak of, but the critics did flock back in droves when this was released...and with good cause. This one is the perfect balance between two things I really like...Frank's trademark wit and weirdness on the one hand, and his newfound love for classic Exile on Main St.-style rock on the other.



I am the rare child of the 90s who enjoys Frank's solo stuff more than his work with the Pixies. Don't get me wrong, the Pixies are amazing, they put out a bunch of startlingly original and unrelentingly catchy albums while maintaining their status as a great touring band with a strong stage presence. But Frank's stuff is more personal, his vision is something that has grown even more unique over time. No matter what he's playing, you can tell it's him...not just words and music but a feeling. The man and his magic. This album is where it really gels. His best since my favorite one of his, Teenager of the Year, Black sounds relaxed and confident. He is equally at home on folky strummers (St. Francis Dam Disaster), bizarro rockers ("Hermaphroditos"), and piano-driven bluesy bar tunes (If It Takes All Night," my personal fave here). The man is not trying too hard, obviously, and is having some fun. It shows. I will never tire of this gem.



There are a lot of five star reviews on Amazon, and I may be in part responsible for that, but really this is worth it, really. Honest. Would I let you down?"

Excellent Record

Greg Brady | 03/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"as a long time pixies and frank black fan i this is my favorite frank black album with the catholics (the only one i have not heard yet is "show me your tears"). the songs are engaging and sonically the record does not disappoint.i also recommend the first two frank black albums prior to joining up with the catholics : "frank black" and "teenager of the year", and, of course, the pixies stuff is brilliant. (note that the cult of ray features the guys dubbed the catholics on the later cd's.)"