Grand Duchy Releases Debut Effort
Former Pixies frontman teams up with wife with varying (but mostly good) results.
Grand Duchy
Petits Fours
Released on Apr 14, 2009
There’s a certain amount of renown surrounding one member of the band Grand Duchy and their first album, Petits Fours. He railed against all that was ‘80s pop while Blondie dropped “Atomic” bombs on the charts and A-Ha cried “Take On Me” in triumph over record sales and animated police. On the other side of the charts, however, the band led by Frank Black (The Pixies) strove to deconstruct the bubblegum pop synths of top 40 mainstays. And they did so. Successfully enough to garner the obligatory indie sensation “15 years too late popularity” that was launched by Fight Club’s last scene.
Now, twenty-five years later and accompanied by his wife, Violet Clark, Frank Black (or Black Francis, who knows anymore?) has released Petits Fours under the name Grand Duchy. It’s a shift, to say the least, for the king of psyche-rock, and it’s left this reviewer wondering: where IS your mind?
Normally, a band that released something like Petits Fours would achieve a mediocre rating. There are solid songs, great production, and a back-and-forthing that doesn’t necessarily define a sound (since so many different styles are touched on) but instead confuses a listener and never drives anything “home.” And perhaps it’s not fair to judge a new band on a single member’s former work, but Frank Black should know better by now.
Violet Clark is described by Frank as the antithesis of what he believed in during the ‘80s. She was into that pop sound and continues to worship the era and aesthetic as much as the next American Apparel-clad, pink-tights wearing scene chick. The problem here is that she and Frank have decided that his grizzled guitars and gnarly chainsaw-esque riffs can sit happily next to plucked-out melodies and fairy-like vocals.
Album opener “Come On Over To My House” is a tease for any sort of Pixies fan. With its driving groove and salacious theme, Frank’s hard-edged voice rings out with perfection over a subdued and poignant synth part. Unfortunately, it’s as close as the album gets to cohesion. On the very next track, “Lovesick,” we get to hear Violet for the first time. Her voice isn’t anything to write home about, but it’s also nothing bad. It almost feels like a page out of the 80’s electro scene (and since she is supposedly a big fan of it, perhaps this is a personal triumph). The problem here lies in the move of the album towards an ethereal, airy techy sound that attempts to incorporate the best of both worlds.
“Black Suit” feels like a dark razor-edged vine slipping through the hand as Frank’s voice takes center stage for an atmospheric horror treatment. But even here, where the starless mood somehow shines with pitch-perfect hook treatment, there’s an element of “thrown-togetherness” in the complete synthesis of the parts. “Ermesinde” and “Volcano!” round out the album, offering redeeming tracks that are equal parts memorable, plucky, and buoyant. Somehow, they don’t seem earned though. The drag in the middle of the album just feels like it was both a struggle to create and a struggle to listen through.
I can respect most of the song writing and the solid production value (See “The Long Song” for another rip roaring good time). And, indeed, there are standout, entertaining tracks. I won’t even mention how hard it must be for a husband/wife duo to put out a consistent album. But, perhaps it’s on the track “Fort Wayne” (one of the more put-together tracks, highlighting what a fan of Frank Black wants, as well as Violet’s unique aesthetic) that Frank and Violet say what we’ve been thinking throughout the whole album: “I can't decide, do I confide/These things in my heart/In my heart, in my heart?” Like they say: If you have to ask, you probably shouldn’t.
High Point
“Volcano!” is a quirky, danceable, clever, romp through Violet’s spectacular party-rock-girl vocals and its construction (carefully-plotted layers of guitars and pianos yanking you along for the ride) show off the work of a musical visionary.
Low Point
"Break the Angels” features a keyboard part that would have been a spectacular guitar part. And with Frank Black on guitar, you don’t pass up an opportunity to use him.
Posted by Mark Steffen on Jul 28, 2009 @ 6:30 am
