Grand Duchy - Petits Fours (2009)

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The Pixies know him as Black, the Catholics as Frank, and his mum probably just Charlie. If you’re in pseudonym hell have no fear: after the reformation of the Pixies apparently we’re welcome to call Black Francis whatever the heck we want, phew! Grand Duchy sees the wayward vagabond team up with spouse Violet Clark for an experiment full of creative tension. With five children and a busy touring schedule it’s a wonder the pair have time for experiments but the results speak for themselves.

The project’s namesake was inspired by the pair’s wistful aspirations to buy a place in Luxembourg with the proceeds from the album and live in, as Francis poetically describes it: “Just a little place on the river, in the ravine, in the trees, in the stars”. Sticking to the true spirit of experimentalism they decided to play every instrument on the album, despite admitting they’re not exactly experts on them all.

Having launched his recently completed soundtrack for silent film Der Golem in San Francisco, Francis has now turned his full attention to the first release from Grand Duchy: Petits Fours. Collaborating with Violet has obviously given Francis some new perspective: “She was innocent. I hadn’t felt innocent for years. She digs the 80’s. I had spent the latter part of the 80’s doing my part to destroy the 80’s. Our second recording session involved a fair amount of shouting and throwing things, much to the horror, I’m sure, of our two engineers Thaddeus Moore and Jason Carter. Over time we threw less objects and began to enjoy our creative tension”. Her charms clearly weave in and out of the album, from her breathy vocals on Fort Wayne and Seeing Stars to her half sung, half spoken lyrical jaunts on‘Volcano. There are plenty of sweet, jangly percussive sounds and dreamy synth lines sweeping over almost every song to lend the album a feminine and upbeat feel, even Francis’ own vocals soften on occasion, most notably on Ermesinde.

However, despite this harmonious sounding collaboration, soon enough roughly strummed guitar chords start to roar through delicate moments and despite Violet’s vocals lending a softer touch the album is dominated by Francis’ trademark style. In fact he dominates the style so much that you would be forgiven for thinking that in all honesty this is a Pixies album. Ok, it’s The Pixies in an alternate new-wave 80’s dimension, synthed up to the max, but nevertheless almost every song is shaped by prominent bass heavy riffs and background “la la la”s. On Volcano Violet even indulges in the Pixies-esque chatter at the opening. “Is this song starting?” she sweetly mocks, “I’m a little confused”. Yes Violet, that’s because Kim Deal usually does that bit. I loved the Pixies so this album intrigues me and it is a perfectly enjoyable listen, but if you’re looking for something fresh from Francis this isn’t really it. Think of it more as Black Francis’ homage to the side of the 80’s he himself said he was trying to destroy. THE MUSIC MAGAZINE