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Artist
Frank Black and the Catholics
12+ albums
rockalternativealternative rockindie rockindie
about
Frank Black and the Catholics was a musical outfit led by Pixies frontman Charles Thompson ('Frank Black') following that band's initial demise. Between 1998-2003 they released six studio albums, but have since gone on apparent hiatus as Thompson has turned to focus on solo material (as Frank Black and, later, Black Francis) and the Pixies reunion. Using the "backing band" from his 1996 solo album, The Cult of Ray, Thompson dubbed his new band "Frank Black and the Catholics", and recorded their eponymous first album in 1997. His band consisted of Lyle Workman on lead guitar, bassist David McCaffrey and Scott Boutier on drums. Frank Black and the Catholics became the first album to be posted to the eMusic service; they claim it is "the first album ever made legally available for commercial download". Having eschewed multi-track recording for his later solo material, Thompson continued the live-to-two-track technique for all subsequent releases under the Catholics. Live-to-two-track recording precludes the use of overdubs to correct errors or add texture; all takes are recorded continuously, and mixing is done "on the fly". On later albums, he incorporated more musicians into the sessions to allow for more varied instrumental textures. Explaining his rationale behind the method, he commented: "Well, it's real. It's a recording of a performance, of a real performance between a group of people, an entourage, a band, as opposed to a facsimile of that, which is frequently what
