If you imagine three sides of a Frank Black triangle, the first would be his role as the lead singer and songwriter for seminal alt-rock group, the Pixies. The second would be the solo work he’s done under his own moniker in the years since his departure (and return to) the Pixies. The third would be his more recent re-emergence as the sensitive Black Francis. Each side of the triangle is an integral part of this complicated musician, and on his 13th and latest solo effort as Black Francis, NonStopErotik (Essential), the musician presents an erotically-themed album that should appease fans of all three sides.
“Rabbits” has the delicate and folky feeling of one of the softer Black tunes. It is far removed from the eye-slicing madness of songs like Doolittle‘s “Debaser. Its more along the lines of Places Named After Numbers, from 1994s Frank Black. It even has a tenor sax solo. What could be more relaxing than that?
This article appears in Apr 21-27, 2010.
