| Product: |
Frank Black And The Catholics in general |
| Date: |
19/02/01 (44 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Memories of the Pixies
Disadvantages: Comparison with the Pixies
I don't really have an awful lot to say in this opinion, I simply find it astonishing that there is not a single opinion here.
I have just got back from watching Frank & the Catholics at The Charlotte, Leicester, and it was well worth it.
The band are very able, and reeled tracks off with thorough ease. Frank Black was brilliant, keeping the crowd on a leash with minimal effort, and reproducing perfectly the sounds of the albums.
For those who don't know, Frank Black was the singer and inspiration behind The Pixies, a thoroughly astonishing and influential American 80's group.
This new group is most definitely not The Pixies. It's not that they lack ability - they perform old Pixies tracks very well - it's just that the writing never reaches the heights achieved by The Pixies.
In truth, most of the people who were there tonight (including me) were only really there because they wanted to hear Pixies songs sung by Frank Black. These songs were certainly the highlights tonight, and really got everyone going.
Although I have not heard huge amounts of their material, The Catholics seem to lack that edge that turns fairly good material into great songs. There are similarities with the Pixies - the obscure experiments with timing are reminiscent of many Pixies tracks, and sometimes the vocals are very similar - but the inspiration is not there.
It's all very listenable, but really suffers from comparison to a vastly superior band.
One thing in ther favour, however is a truly brilliant guitarist. He is immensely talented and versatile - he played about 3 different instruments - and has a number of party tricks that are, to say the least, impressive. On top of the usual crazy solos and so on, he did a fair few things I had never seen before, including one whole song where he used a drum stick in place of a pick. He can actually handle a drum stick a hell of a lot better than I
can, and he's supposed to be a guitarist!
Anyway, I was impressed with the band overall. They have an interesting sound, and are not afraid to experiment. However, if they want to avoid comparison with the Pixies they should do something a bit different, otherwise they'll always just be an average band who are nice to watch because you can pretend its the Pixies.
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