Michele Laudig

If the Pernice Brothers' newest full-length, Discover a Lovelier You, sounds just a little more optimistic than earlier releases, it's an unintended nuance. Singer-songwriter Joe Pernice really doesn't see it as a radical departure from 2003's Yours, Mine and Ours, although the press has called it everything from his poppiest...

Some people dread reunions. It would be easy to assume that Charles Thompson feels that way about getting his old band back together. The charismatic Pixies frontman, who shrieked and howled under the name Black Francis before launching a successful solo career as Frank Black, is a notorious grouch. Interviewing...