For a time after the Pixies first split and he focused on his solo work, frontman Charles Thompson spun his nom de guerre around and Black Francis became the slightly more conventional Frank Black. Over the years as he (and for a time his band The Catholics) released a steady stream of quality music, the fiery abstractions the Pixies flashed were tempered by experience. Eventually his music found its way back to the blues and soul roots of American rock that were always buried beneath the layers of guitar fuzz and impenetrable lyricism. By the time he got there the Pixies were reunited and touring on their finally appreciated greatest hits, and Thompson stayed busy when off the road recording constantly and eventually releasing the double LP Fast Man Raider Man with Nashville session greats and other of his heroes and musical friends.

But a few years back he put Frank Black back on hold and for the first time began using the Black Francis name behind his solo work. But rather than return to his Pixies beginnings, Thompson has simply continued along the musical path he’s been winding down for years. Nonstoperotik, his third Black Francis album, has just as much of his last Frank Black as it does his first stint as Francis. So while the music on this disc might not inspire a wave of followers and imitators like his Pixies days, Thompson is clearly having a lot of fun cranking out his latest batch of rock ‘n roll surrealism. Sure his eroticism might not be the subtlest, (he sings of his “intention inside of you” on the title track and songs like “When I Go Down On You” and “Lake of Sin” live up to their lurid titles) but it’s clear he’s investing plenty of himself in everything he does. There’s a touch of his first band on the terse “Six Legged Man” while “Wheels” and “Dead Man’s Curve” are quality throwback rockers. It seems that Black Francis has learned a few lessons from Frank Black, and Thompson brings plenty of excitement to putting them on display for whatever voyeurs happen by.

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