(Cooking Vinyl)

www.cookingvinyl.com

Black Francis and his wife, Violet Clark, entered a recording studio sometime during the last year and were thrust into a time warp which landed them in the mid-‘80s. After several close encounters with black holes and red dwarfs, the resulting twitch in the space-time continuum gave birth to their new project, known from hereon out as Grand Duchy.

Their new album, Petit Fours, is probably the closest thing to the Pixies since, well, the reuniting of the Pixies. Specifically, Grand Duchy plays a similar brand of futuristic power-pop that made albums like Trompe Le Monde so urgently weird and rocking. Francis and Clark trade off vocals throughout, over a minimal but driving blend of distorted power chords, shimmering synths, and basic drumbeats - some real, some programmed. The overall tone of the album is dark and epic. "Black Suit" is a good example of this, as Francis turns his croon into a growl over a Joy Division backdrop. There are lighter moments, such as "Fort Wayne," a mid-tempo ode to "kids swaying to rock and roll beats," punctuated by Clark's "la-la-la's." When she handles lead vocals, as on the poppy "Lovesick," the album doesn't lose any steam - proof that this isn't a pet project resting squarely on Francis' shoulders.

Fans of the Pixies who haven't been totally sold on Black Francis' rock and roll-country hybrid solo work over the past few years will get great satisfaction out of this new project. This might just be the best husband-wife musical team since Ike and Tina.

Standout Tracks: "Fort Wayne" "Black Suit" JONAH FLICKER