Black Francis

The Pixies frontman (aka Frank Black) brings back the soft-melodic-meets-heavy-rock sound (aka “loud-quiet-loud”) on this 11-song album, an ode to Dutch painter/musician/loony Herman Brood. Despite a twangy shift toward Nashville in recent years, the guitarist/songwriter still can rock and yell and get weird, as he displays with newfound vigor and vigilance on this release.