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Honeycomb
by Frank Black

Frank Black reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 71 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.3 out of 10
based on 27 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 26 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Before reuniting The Pixies, Black recorded this mellow solo disc in four days in a Nashville studio, backed by veteran southern session musicians.

LABEL: Back Porch / Cooking Vinyl
RELEASE DATE: 19 July 2005
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Indie, Rock

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Entertainment Weekly
Black's take on Southern soul: spare, graceful, in the pocket, with Black himself sounding reborn and relaxed. [22 Jul 2005, p.78]
100
The Guardian
He's discovered a mellow maturity in Southern soul - and without losing his punk rock perversity or poetry.
Read Full Review
90
musicOMH.com
It will surely be remembered as perhaps the greatest Frank Black LP (to date, at least) and perhaps even as the record that made it cool to like country again.
Read Full Review
90
Billboard
One of his finest hours.
Read Full Review
86
Filter
This is relaxed, realized, and startlingly gorgeous. [#16, p.92]
80
Playlouder
If there's a quibble, 'Honeycomb' does lack variation of pace. Though it doesn't matter when the tunes are as consistently as good as 'Sing for Joy'.
Read Full Review
80
Uncut
A quietly remarkable record. [Aug 2005, p.92]
80
New Musical Express
Elegantly-strummed slices of lo-fi Americana.
Read Full Review
80
Neumu.net
Honeycomb is a coherent and listenable collection of songs.
Read Full Review
80
Mojo
Honeycomb is really closer to the Dylan of New Morning than Blonde On Blonde; an angry young man finally transformed by a new voice and outlook. [Aug 2005, p.95]
80
No Ripcord
As usual the songs are superbly crafted, and very well-executed.
Read Full Review
75
Spin
Alternately goofy, sweet, and weird. [Aug 2005, p.97]
70
Splendid
Honeycomb isn't a great album -- it's too tentative and self-restrained for that -- but it's quite a good one.
Read Full Review
70
Rolling Stone
The playing is bright, relaxed and spontaneous. [28 Jul 2005, p.82]
70
Q Magazine
His mutation into Hank Williams may be unlikely, but it also proves to be rather charming. [Aug 2005, p.126]
70
All Music Guide
Honeycomb is steeped in tradition, yet manages to buck it at the same time; while not all Pixies and Frank Black fans will appreciate its mellow maturity, it's an intimate treat for those who follow its lead.
Read Full Review
70
Blender
Compared with the Pixies, this is conservative and gentlemanly. [Aug 2005, p.109]
70
Prefix Magazine
Given the strength of the album’s beginning, the latter half lags quite a bit, but the occasional highlight arises.
Read Full Review
70
Paste Magazine
[Honeycomb has] some of Black’s most mature songwriting to date and a chilled-out sound that plays like the cure to a hangover after a night of Pixies-soundtracked debauchery.
Read Full Review
68
cokemachineglow
It suffers both in comparison to Black’s other solo material and on its own decidedly alt-country terms.
Read Full Review
60
Under The Radar
The tension of is-this-a-joke-or-serious is perhaps the largest aspect of the album's subtle, growing charm. [#10, p.105]
60
Pitchfork
Has its inspired moments but ultimately comes off like something of a vanity project.
Read Full Review
60
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Fall[s] somewhere between briskly entertaining and simply inconsequential.
Read Full Review
42
Stylus Magazine
Honeycomb proves too rigid and self-serious to make good on Black’s strengths.
Read Full Review
40
PopMatters
If Honeycomb exercises Dylanisms, they're the indulgent kind: stifled melodic repetitions, gaggles of verses, rushed takes that make brilliant musicians appear barely competent.
Read Full Review
40
Village Voice
The set is just a curio, banking everything on Black's low register, which has the texture but not the stamina to pull off so many slow, velvet lullabies about sour romance.
Read Full Review
40
New York Magazine
It is a noble effort, modeled on Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde, but the results are underwhelming.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 26 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Paul A gave it a10:
I was a huge Pixies fan back in the day but I hadn't really got into Frank Black's solo stuff until I recently bought Bluefinger, Dog in the Sand and Honeycomb practically at the same time... I'm a big fan again!

Matthew S gave it an8:
Stands out like a shiny dime against the old money of a familiar genre. Positive and uplifting.

daniela gave it a10:
brilliant! from trompe le monde to this... makes complete sense to me!

AJ gave it a9:
I actually wasn't expecting this project to be as successful as it turned out. There are a few moments where it seems Frank is teetering dangerously close to middle aged wussiness (eg. the second half of "My life is in storage") but these instances are completely overshadowed by the craftsmanship of Frank's song writing and lyrical inventiveness. "Sing for Joy" is an epic, bittersweet, affirmation of life that alone is worth the price of purchase. It caps a very solid effort by Frank.

Eddie M gave it a7:
Most immediately accessible songs on this album are the 3 covers. Black's original material is hit and miss (more hits than misses though). All in all a triumph of dark but mellow Americana.

Scott Y gave it a3:
Nothing bad...just nothing really exciting, either. Sort of jazz-like, which I wasn't really expecting.

You suck gave it a10:
What the? How could anyone give this great album a 3 or a 2?

Read more user comments...

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