Frank Black verhehlt nicht, dass die Reunion der Pixies neben einem hohen Spaßfaktor auch kommerzielle Gründe hatte. Befreit von finanziellem Druck kann der kugelrunde Mann nun seine Solo-Karriere angehen, und das ist Honeycomb jede Sekunde anzuhören. Entspannt und rockfrei wie selten klingt es ohne die Catholics, die in den Better Songs & Garden Studios von Dan Penn in Nashville / Tennessee durch exquisite Musiker ersetzt wurden. Produzent Jon Tiven (Wilson Pickett, B.B.King, Robert Plant) hatte geladen, und es kamen unter anderem Steve Cropper, Buddy Miller, Reggie Young, Chester Thompson, Anton Fig oder David Hood. Nur Namen? Mitnichten! Alle sind begehrte Studiomusiker, die unter anderem schon mit Booker T., Otis Redding, Kiss, Buddy Miles, John Lennon, Solomon Burke, Johnny Cash, Genesis, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon oder Aretha Franklin arbeiteten – um nur einige wenige zu nennen. Könner also, die „...man im Studio einfach laufen lassen, selten einfangen und immer mit viel Respekt behandeln muss...“, sagt Frank Black und führt weiter an, dass „...ich noch nie mit solchen außergewöhnlichen Leuten arbeiten durfte, und ich mein dass überhaupt nicht despektierlich gegenüber anderen.“ Frank Black war bei den Aufnahmen zu Honeycomb zwar der Boss, derjenige, der die Songs vorgab, doch gleichzeitig fügte er sich egofrei ein und öffnete so Räume. Die füllte die Musiker-Crew bei gemächlichem Tempo dankbar mit Country, Folk, Blues und Soul, extrem transparent arrangiert, unglaublich entspannt und stilsicher gespielt. Teilweise brauchte es nur ein bis zwei Takes, um die Songs in mal gerade vier Tagen einzuspielen. Honeycomb ist das vielleicht beste Album von Frank Black, definitiv aber sein außergewöhnlichstes Solowerk.

(Sven Niechziol , Amazon.de-Redaktion)

Die Welt wartet auf ein neues Album der Pixies, doch Frank Black lässt die Indiefans weiter zappeln. Mit seiner neuen Soloplatte bürstet das legendäre Dickerchen komplett gegen den Strich: keine Catholics, kein Rock'n'Roll. Mitmachen durfte auf "Honeycomb" nur, wer eine gestandene Americana-Legende ist. Musiker wie Steve Cropper, Chester Thompson und Reggie Young arbeiteten bereits für John Lennon, Bob Dylan und Johnny Cash. Klar, die haben Blues, Country, Folk und Soul und retten die mittelmäßigen Kompositionen auf Blacks Nashville-Album, von denen gerade mal das herzergreifende Duett mit Ex-Frau Jean Thompson ("Strange Goodbye") wirklich überzeugt. Und während Black mit viel Langeweile entspannt, wartet die Welt weiter auf eine Comeback-Platte der Pixies.

(Kulturnews)

Leave it to Frank Black to have his cake and eat it, too: By releasing Honeycomb, his Nashville-recorded collaboration with session legends including Steve Cropper, Anton Fig and Spooner Oldham, while his reunion tour with the Pixies continued, he could follow his bliss and please his longtime fans. Those who thought Black's later work sounded like the output of a bad bar band probably won't get Honeycomb either, but at least the reunited Pixies should satisfy their longings to hear him shriek about surrealism and incest like he did in the good old days. On paper, Black and Cropper, Fig, et. al. might not seem like the likeliest fit, but the early-rock roots of the Pixies' mutated surf-punk-pop and the country and roots-rock flirtations of his later career suggest otherwise (and "In the Midnight Hour," which Cropper co-wrote, was one of the first songs that Black ever played live). Honeycomb's songs feel tailored to the experience of recording with these musicians in this location, and have a sophistication that Black might not have been able to get with another group of players: the affably drunken "Another Velvet Nightmare" floats by on Oldham's elegantly wasted piano lines, and the band as a whole makes the cover of Dan Penn & Chips Moman's "Dark End of the Street" that much more soulful and genuine. Another cover, Doug Sahm's "Sunday Sunny Mill Valley Groove Day," pays tribute to one of the most prominent influences on Black's later post-Pixies work. Yet, despite the homages to his influences, the musicians playing with him and the very town in which the album was recorded, Honeycomb is one of Frank Black's most intimate collections of songs, and the closest he's come to a traditional, singer/songwriter solo album. Even in this more straightforward territory, though, Black's imagery remains unique: "Selkie Bride" places the beguiling sea spirit of Celtic legend in modern times; the woman he's looking for in the title track has "cherry brown lips of maple"; and "Atom in My Heart" mixes straight-up country with science. Like Show Me Your Tears, Honeycomb is a remarkably personal album, and it's still a bit of a shock to hear one of alternative rock's most famously cryptic artists reveal so much about his life in his music. Black's songs are increasingly about coming to terms with life's realities and disappointments, but they end up feeling more liberating than depressing. "I Burn Today" and "Lone Child" carry on with the dancing-on-your-troubles approach of Show Me Your Tears. "Strange Goodbye," meanwhile, is a remarkably cheery post-mortem of Black's marriage -- sung as a duet with his soon to be ex-wife, Jean -- that ends up being one of the highlights of his post-Pixies career. Considering that the album was recorded in just four days, Honeycomb is a remarkably strong album, and even on weaker tracks like "My Life is in Storage," the playing on it always shines. Unlike some of his peers, not only is Frank Black still here, he's making music that isn't just a rehash of his salad days. With the therapy/roots-rock of Show Me Your Tears, the disc of Pixies "covers" on Frank Black Francis and this album, Black proves that he isn't just open to change in his solo work, he embraces it. 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.

(by Heather Phares, All Music Guide)