The companion album to the reflective, ambitious
Black Letter Days,
Devil's Workshop is short, simple, and lively, a collection of rollicking, quirky road songs that recall some of the more oblique moments on
Teenager of the Year and the more rock-oriented tracks on
Pistolero and
Dog in the Sand. And, as on
Black Letter Days,
Frank Black uses travel and the West as muses, particularly on the bright, bittersweet jangle pop of "Out of State"; the bouncy yet edgy "San Antonio, TX"; and "Are You Headed My Way?," a singalong set to a boogie-woogie beat. While
Devil's Workshop's playful, off-kilter rock is arguably more musically straightforward than most of
Black Letter Days,
Black and the Catholics still craft a surprisingly full sound from their back-to-basics, two-track approach. In particular, the album features some of the most sizzling guitar work to appear on one of
Black's albums since his days in
the Pixies; even some of the lesser songs here, such as "The Scene" and "Whiskey in Your Shoes," boast impressively slashing rhythm guitars and incendiary leads. Fortunately, though, many of the songs here are among the best he's written in his later solo career, whether it's the vaguely spooky,
Teenager-esque pop of "His Kingly Cave"; the cryptic but oddly brooding rock of "Bartholomew" and "Heloise"; or the playful, romantic "Modern Age" (no, not the
Strokes song, although it would be interesting to hear
Black cover it). The fun, easygoing vibe of
Devil's Workshop is exemplified by "Velvety," a version of
the Pixies' B-side "Velvety Instrumental Version" (and one of the first songs that
Black ever wrote) that finally has downright silly but entertaining lyrics. The song's rip-snorting guitars, stop-start rhythms, and
Black's wound-up delivery don't recall
the Pixies so much as expand on that sound without seeming self-consciously mature. Like
Black Letter Days, this album starts out strong and sort of peters out toward the end, but it's less noticeable here since the album is just shy of a half-hour long. While it's possible that combining the best songs from both releases would've resulted in another great album like
Teenager of the Year or
Dog in the Sand, both
Black Letter Days and
Devil's Workshop are different and enjoyable enough to make them both worthwhile for die-hard
Frank Black fans. Ultimately,
Black Letter Days may be the more "important" work, but
Devil's Workshop's fun, energetic rush shouldn't be missed (or dismissed) either. ~ Heather Phares