That 4AD are releasing this glorious second solo album from the Pixies frontman on gleaming gold-coloured vinyl is only right and proper, as it still stands as his crowning glory in terms of music outside the band.
In fact, it finds him rejuvenated after Pixies' pre-hiatus swansong Trompe Le Monde – the songwriting here is impeccable, madly inventive and overflowing with a sense of freedom and joie de vivre, beautifully at odds with the gloom of the imploding grunge scene of the time. Black has an innate understanding of the power of a tight pop chorus, respect for classic American rock'n'roll, and a sense of punk weirdness to make it all sound brand new.
The songs are pared down to the bare minimum, 22 of them each around that magic bar of three minutes, but he fits so much into those precious seconds, from cod-reggae to wild whoops.
Headache, the album's hit single, sounds like just that, tension behind the eyeballs jauntily and cheerfully endured, its bounce and drive its own remedy, clearing to make way for the Roy Orbison-worshipping Sir Rockabye, Lyrically and musically clever, wildly varied and irresistible, Teenager Of The Year is the sound of a man running wild in his own imagination, and it's still brilliant three decades on.
