Somewhere along the line, Frank Black decided to abandon the idea of being a "major" artist who makes "major" artistic statements. In the process, he morphed into a true road warrior, endlessly crisscrossing the barrooms and honky-tonks of America, carving out a niche, and turning out a live-to-two-track album every year or so.
His last two full-lengths with The Catholics were reasonably well-crafted and invigorating, though it's hard not to miss the wild creativity of the Pixies or his early solo work. By now, though, even Frank may be chafing at the limitations of their bar-band sound, staunch as he is in refusing to do overdubs or even edits in the recording process. Fortunately, there are just enough tweaks to that process this time out to enliven the resulting album, making it his most diverse and listenable since Teenager of the Year.
The most notable change on this record is the induction of his former producer and keyboardist, Eric Drew Feldman, to The Catholics, a veteran of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band and Pere Ubu. His contribution mainly consists of tasteful grand piano and Hammond organ, though the odd Rhodes piano or synth flourish crops up now and then. Fellow Magic Band alumnus Moris Tepper and ex-Pixie Joey Santiago also turn up to play guitar on the record. The result is that Frank gets to flesh out his songs with an expanded sonic palette. And while neither as polished as his self-titled debut or as sonically diverse as its follow-up, Dog in the Sand adds a much-needed freshness to the proceedings. Producer Nick Vincent keeps everything crisp and tidy, with as many as eight people playing on any given track.
Dog in the Sand plays as a true classicist rock 'n' roll album, without resorting to cliches or sounding reactionary. The main reference point seems to be Exile on Main Street-era Stones and early Bowie, and all the tracks share a rootsy feel, accented by Rich Gilbert's frequent use of a pedal steel guitar. Luckily, there are enough stylistic flourishes to keep things interesting. The opener, "Blast Off", begins like your typical slow-paced Catholics track before shifting into Black's most peppy and angular riff in years. His lyrical genius makes appearances, too, with lines like, "I'm in a Beckett trance from all the chemicals." Still, the track drags on just a bit too long, making one regret that no edits were allowed.
"I've Seen Your Picture" magnifies the Rolling Stones influence; when Black pronounces "away" in the chorus as "uh-waayy-yeee," he's a dead ringer for Mick. "Robert Onion", which features Joey Santiago on guitar, comes the closest to the good ol' Boston post-punk, though it sounds more like Mission of Burma than his former band. And the irrepressibly hooky "If It Takes All Night" demonstrates exactly the kind of purity and spirit that one might hope to capture in a live environment.
Frank Black indulges his obsession with obscure bits of California and Los Angeles history in his ode to California's first Socialist collective on "Llano del Rio", as well as the excellent "St. Francis Dam Disaster", which recounts an early 20th century incident that resulted in a wall of water cascading 53 miles across the California countryside to the sea. On the latter, Black counts down the miles as the water devastates thousands, and Feldman's piano work gives it a tragic feel. Often, though, Black's lyrics remain willfully obscure, as Frank eats dictionaries for breakfast.
Black has made comments recently that indicate he doesn't consider the Catholics his "permanent" backing band. Though this record is hardly a sonic breakthrough, at no point does it sound exactly like anything he's done before. It's refreshing if only because he hasn't allowed himself to become stuck in a rut, and because it dispels the feeling that he might have been growing complacent. Though there's no denying his most groundbreaking days are probably over, it's nice to know that his future still promises to be anything but predictable.
