Sweet! Honeybears drop 'Scandalous'
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears offer a clinic on creating a successful party soundtrack with its sophomore album, "Scandalous" (Lost Highway). Take a whole lot of James Brown funk ("Livin' in the Jungle"), filter it through an indie-rock sensibility for some extra-sharp rhythms (thanks to producer Jim Eno of Spoon) and add a dash of Texas blues ("Messin'," "Mustang Ranch") and -- bam! -- you get a surefire good time. And that's even before the shout-along soul train ride to "Booty City"!
BLACK JOE LEWIS & THE HONEYBEARS
"Scandalous"
GRADE A-
BOTTOM LINE A funky good time