Squeezing back into his Pixies moniker, the renamed Black Francis rushed out BlueFinger last year. A scrappy record inspired by the artist Herman Brood and featuring moments worthy of the Black Francis name.One year later B. Francis released the seven songs EP – or is it an LP? What is the song number cutoff? Do people even know what EP or LP mean anymore? – called Svn Fngrs. The record is a mixture of the Brood-infused BlueFinger and Francis' work just prior to the Pixies' reunion. Back when he was still Frank.
At seven songs this adds up to more than just a stopgap release. With only two other musicians in tow – Violet Clark on bass and Jason Carter on drums – Francis is his everything you would expect on vocals and guitar, and even throws in some crude harmonica work for good measure.
Svn Fngrs feels like a cohesive album, certainly not a set of leftovers. BlueFinger as a quick purge of pop art mania, kind of like rainbow vomit after too much bubble gum ice cream. Svn Fngrs is back to stronger songwriting, playing to the man's strengths.
This may just be a teaser for his next record. This one pulls from the polished songwriting of his Fastman/Raiderman album, but lacks the studio shine the Nashville session stars lent to the project. Or he could just be cleaning out his closet.
