When Charles Thompson resurrected his Black Francis moniker for last year’s hard-rocking Bluefinger full-length, the results were uneven but fun. This seven-song EP benefits from its short format. Opening track “The Seus” is all Beefheart-ian blurt and skronk; “Garbage Heap” is pounding, propulsive and Pixies-anthemic; “Seven Fingers” is pitched halfway between a sea shanty and a trail-rider raveup. Conceptually, the songs on Svn Fngrs reference Irish mythological hero Cúchulainn (one key line goes, “I turn into a monster when I fight/Death is on my left and on my right”), and sure enough, on final track “When They Come To Murder Me,” he meets a bloody demise. [www.cookingvinylusa.com]
—Fred Mills
