Teenager of the Year

I’m one who thinks the 90s produced the best music in history.

Not this.

It’s fine, even pretty decent, but it sounds 90s in the worst possible way. I don’t know how to explain that, but I just don’t think it aged very well. Again, it’s a totally ok album — but it isn’t greatness.

Fun album, but no way I’d go back to it over Doolittle or surfer rosa.

I love Pixies. Not sure you could class this as ‘an album you must hear before you die’ when Surfer Rosa, Doolittle and Bossanova exist.

A couple of songs like Abstract Plain and Headache are Pixies standard songs but there’s definitely a fair bit of filler here.

With a bit of quality control this could have been a great 13-song album instead of a middling 22-song one

It's aight. A few good songs here and there.

Good 90s indie music. Enjoyable but not especially creative.

3.25 first half better than the last

Solid work that occasionally reaches near the highs of The Pixies but overall is mostly rather be listening to them. It’s a bit overstuffed as well at over an hour.

Ну не знаю, доволі дефолтний сольний альбом від лідера піксіз. Одна пісня сподобалась, а так загалом фоново.

This is #day327 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… apparently, three Pixies albums on this list aren't enough. I mean, if I feel like listening to Pixies, I'll go ahead and put on some Pixies, not this. A couple of good tunes here and there, otherwise an inessential record. Crazily long to boot. I'm giving it a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day328.

Too much Peter, Paul and Mary. Not enough Hüsker Dü.

Not particularly memorable for me. Had to think for a moment if I'd even actually listened to it, which isn't really the point of this list is it.

None of the songs were bad, but none were exceptional, either. Quite a forgettable album. I can't see why it would be one of the 1089 most notable albums.

god this was a frustrating listen. When I saw the cover I immediately thought I was going to dislike it, but once I saw it was Frank Black of the Pixies fame I thought it might be interesting (though my enjoyment of the pixies is mixed).
This album was a mess. Bloated to all hell, with 90% of the songs being entirely uninteresting. I was the 10% that experimented with more loud rock elements was extended. Unfortunately this one doesn't make it to a favorable rating for me. 1.4/5 -> 1/5

Strong start from the first couple tracks, but it lost me after that. This should have been edited down to 10 tracks, max.

Turns out, I like Frank Black a lot more as a solo artist than I do with The Pixies. I find it a lot easier to connect with.

This album is in my library now.

Favorite songs: Pure Denizen of the Citizen Band, Calistan, Big Red, Ol Mulholland, Thalassocracy, The Vanishing Spies

Least favorite songs: Two Reelers, Sir Rockaby, Fiddle Riddle, Pie in the Sky

3/5

I always struggle a bit with these albums that have like 20+ songs that are mostly under 3 minutes. That seems like such an odd choice to make when writing an album. Part of the problem with these kinds of albums is that it's hard to write 20+ distinct sounding songs in a short time for one record. This album definitely fell prey to that trap. I found myself kind of checking out about halfway through. It's fine, nothing remarkable or terrible to report. He should stick with the Pixies. 2.5/5

I was surprised to see a solo album from Black Francis under his alias, Frank Black, alongside the early Pixies records on this list. People must have been hungry for more of his work after the Pixies' initial breakup. I've certainly come to enjoy Francis's nonsensical songwriting, and I remember enjoying "Calistan" two months ago when it came up on my Spotify Discover Weekly playlist. With that all in mind, how did Teenager of the Year stack up?

I'd say it's a good record, but it's not quite a great one. Francis continued his venture into the surf-rock-adjacent songwriting and construction, where at times, tracks like "Speedy Marie" and single "Headache" fit a more laid-back on the beach vibe. That's not to say there aren't bursts of chaotic energy like with the old Pixies sound; the opening onslaught of tracks from "Whatever Happened to Pong?" to "Calistan", and occasional tracks in the middle such as "Two Reelers", "Bad, Wicked World" and closer "Pie in the Sky" capture some of that wild spark Francis had been known for, the backing band was able to match his style decently and it's produced well.

That said, we have reached the point where I have to draw attention to my two hangups with this album - it is longer and less energetic than those earlier Pixies records. Clocking in at over an hour, there is a sense purveying this record that Francis wanted to put as many songs together to distinguish himself from his earlier work. The problem is that with such a long runtime and some songs starting to run together in sound and style, there's only so much that could be reasonably accomplished without the album feeling bloated. I was starting to feel fatigued at the piano-driven reggae track "Fiddle Riddle", which at that point would have been the length of a Pixies record. Needless to say, some tracks should have been cut.

I still enjoyed Teenager of the Year and continue to appreciate Francis as a songwriter. There are some good tracks in between the filler here. Cherry-pick your favorites and go from there.

Na een aantal fijne luisterplaten, komt de dag dat je wist dat die zou komen. De dag dat we weer amuzikale zang moeten verwerken. Ik heb de drie albums van de Pixies gemiddeld een 2 gegeven en nu dus een solo-album van de man die die troep heeft achtergelaten. Het is sowieso te veel. Ik vind normaal een best-of-album valsspelen. Maar ik zou er nu blij mee geweest zijn. Gewoon de muzikale vondsten die er bij Franks schijven ook elke keer bij zijn (eerlijk is eerlijk) op een rij. Alle ballast over boord.

Of course it doesn't really come close to the big Pixies Records, but still very enjoyable. If it wasn't for the loong tracklist I think it would get a 4 star rating, but as it is I think a 3 is more like it.