ComfortComes

Grand Duchy – Petits Fours

Hubby/wife duo Black Francis and Violet Clark combine forces for Petits Fours – a playful exploration of the couple’s odd, but remarkably fitting musical dynamic. From Black, fans can expect a much welcome return to the primal absurdity of the Pixies. With the addition of Clark, we have decidedly more delicate new-wave elements weaved into the mix. All of this could easily sound contrived, but the interplay between the two reveals that these binary aspects are not mutually exclusive – instead, each artist seems to be bringing out parts in the other that, in all likelihood, would not have been evident in their solo material. In other words, this is a collaboration of ideas in the truest sense of the word – It is a sonic space in which the ugly and the pretty, the synthetic and the natural, the polished and the primal, are not disparate parts but two halves of the same whole.

The band’s symbiosis takes fruition in the lovely “Seeing Stars,” whose denouement reaches a level of ethereality that Black has alluded to for years (mostly prominently in the unheralded gem “The Happening” and the psuedo-transcendental “No. 13 Baby”.) These were wonderful moments, but with Clark’s touch, we suddenly realize that something was missing all along: Her keenness in finding the emotional in the synthetic results in something sweeping and majestic – something that, until now, was just beyond Black’s reach. Likewise, the fact that this is Violet Clark’s proper debut only magnifies Black’s importance as a musical partner (It should be noted that Clark recorded and produced an album under the name Dunmore shortly before Grand Duchy, a record whose release is, as of now, unforeseeable.)

Without question, the key to Petits Fours’ success is the audible sense of intimacy between its performers, which is so palpable it at times even seems invasive on the part of the listener. One such moment is the playful back-and-forth somewhere in the middle of “Lovesick”, in which Black interjects with an eye-brow raising “What are you wearing?” to which Clark replies, with cutesy flirtation “I don’t know!” Its a simple exchange – and not much on paper – but in the moment, it feels unmistakably voyeuristic. Its one of a handful of moments that make it difficult to peel the headphones away.