Frank Black and the Catholics
Show Me Your Tears
2003, SpinART Records
There’s not much writing about the end of Frank Black and the Catholics. They weren’t the kind of group that anyone gossiped about.
When the Pixies got back together in 2004 some thought that the Catholics might merely go on hiatus. I remember seeing speculation that once this reunion played itself out, the Catholics would return.
Oh, how innocent we were!
That made some kind of sense at the time, though. Also, speculation was all that we had. Black talked to a million writers in 2004 who wanted to know how well he and Kim Deal were getting along and what he thought about Kurt Cobain. No one asked Catholics questions, so it took years for Black to confirm in the press that the Catholics fell apart all by themselves. It was over.
A 2021 interview with Independent.co.uk quotes him:
“[They] were totally burned out on me and burned out on my methodology,” following, he’s previously asserted, “10 years of hard touring and loading our own gear and not making a lotta money out of it”.
I don’t think I need more explanation than that.
From their strict live-in-the-studio recording method to their endless tours, the Catholics did everything the hard way. That was the point of the band. It’s a wonder that they lasted as long as they did.
To their vast credit, they never flinched. Rich Gilbert, Dave Phillips, David McCaffrey, and Scott Boutier were pros. If they were burning out, they never gave it away on record. Each album is a new show of confidence and Show Me Your Tears stands for me as their most beautiful Valentine’s candy box of sad songs.
Let’s cover them one by one. I love this album and I’ve got my coins ready for the jukebox.
Continue reading “Frank Black-O-Rama! #21: SHOW ME YOUR TEARS”