Frank Black Honeycomb CD

Pixies fans and casual followers of Frank Black's solo career might be surprised by the mellow, blues- and roots-inflected surfaces of HONEYCOMB. Recorded in Nashville and redolent of the famed sound of that city, HONEYCOMB contains none of the roaring guitar, bone-crunching aggression, or blood-curdling screams for which Black is best known. Instead, the album drifts like a lazy afternoon, with an introspective front-porch feel a la distinctive, literate songwriters like Townes Van Zandt, Joe Henry, and Neil Young.

Black's tenor sounds surprisingly sweet and vulnerable sans throaty yelps and banshee howls, and is the perfect complement to his lovely melodies. He also sacrifices his surreal word collages for more direct, human lyrics that are no less affecting or artfully employed. A host of spectacular session players--including vocalists Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn, guitarists Buddy Miller and Steve Cropper, and drummer Anton Fig--flesh out the laid-back, intimate vibe perfectly. Clueless rock hipsters might turn their noses up at the warm, lovingly crafted textures here, but HONEYCOMB ultimately makes plain what has been true all along: that Frank Black is one of pop music's great songwriters.

Recording information: Better Songs And Gardens, Nashville, TN.

Photographer: Michael Halsband.

Personnel: Frank Black (vocals, guitar); Frank Black ; Dan Penn, James Griffin, James Griffin, Jeanette Wright Black, Jean Black (vocals); David Hood (bass instrument); Spooner Oldham (vocals, keyboards, bells); Ellis Hooks (vocals); Reggie Young , Steve Cropper, Buddy Miller (guitar); Jon Tiven (harmonica); Chester Thompson , Anton Fig, Billy Block, Akil Thompson (drums).

Audio Mixers: Dan Penn; Jon Tiven; Earl Drake.

Spin (pp.97-98) - "Alternately goofy, sweet, and weird, HONEYCOMB's a fine welcome to Charles Thompson, adult." - Grade: B
Uncut (p.92) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[A]n album as soulful as a former Pixie is ever likely to record....The songs mull over the pain of loss in the detached, ruminative mode of Leonard Cohen..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.95) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[A] mood is established that is both graceful and ghostly, like some slow country drive into a haunted village."