Flea Honora

Critic's Take

Flea lets his jazz origins breathe on Honora, and the best tracks on Honora are those that wear that lineage proudly. The opener “Golden Wingship” is sprawling and exploratory, a bold statement of intent that frames the record. “A Plea” leans fully into brass and activism, while the reimagined “Maggot Brain” and stripped-back “Thinkin Bout You” show Flea’s sensitive, melodic instincts. Collaborations like “Traffic Lights (feat. Thom Yorke)” and “Wichita Lineman (feat. Nick Cave)” add chemistry without stealing focus, making these some of the best songs on Honora for their nuance and restraint.

Key Points

• The best song is the opener 'Golden Wingship' because it sets a sprawling, exploratory tone and frames the album.
• The album’s core strengths are its jazz-rooted arrangements, thoughtful collaborations, and intimate reimaginations.

Themes

Critic's Take

Flea returns to his jazz roots on Honora, and the best songs on Honora are where his trumpet and bass collide with adventurous collaborators. The review voice lights up for “A Plea” as an invigorating call to resistance and for “Frailed” as a ten-minute hypnotic centrepiece that really, really swings. Thom Yorke’s guest turn on “Traffic Lights (feat. Thom Yorke)” is praised as making that track a singular, unsettling yet warm avant-rock-jazz gem. Overall the album’s first half is celebrated as the record’s most compelling and vital sequence, while the cover-heavy second half feels a touch less energised but still reveals Flea reimagining classics with sincerity.

Key Points

• The best song is "A Plea" because it combines political urgency with swinging, invigorating jazz energy.
• The album’s core strengths are Flea’s trumpet reinvention and generous collaborations that energise the first half.

Themes

Critic's Take

This reads like a deliberate departure: Flea has very much jumped ship from his day-to-day role and on Honora he embraces jazz rather than rock. The best songs on Honora are those that underline that stylistic leap, notably “Maggot Brain” and “Wichita Lineman (feat. Nick Cave)”, which act as clear touchstones for his new direction. Guy Oddy’s tone is observant and slightly amused, noting the album is "a thousand miles away" from the Chilli Pepper’s sound, and that distance is precisely what makes these tracks stand out. The record rewards listeners curious about Flea the improviser rather than Flea the megastar, and those two tracks crystallize that shift.

Key Points

• The best song moments are those that most clearly show Flea leaving rock behind for jazz.
• The album's core strength is its unambiguous stylistic shift and confident solo identity.

Themes

Critic's Take

Flea’s Honora feels like a deeply meditative, groovy jazz odyssey. It’s sincere and exploratory rather than dilettantish, and the record lingers on personal, chanting mantras and inventive reinterpretations. The narrated "A Plea" is a standout: a direct, urgent call — "Live for peace! Live for love!" — while the plaintive remodel of "Maggot Brain" gives Flea emotional breadth. Collaborations from Thom Yorke to Nick Cave and Jeff Parker keep the album playful and adventurous without ever sounding showy.

Key Points

• The best song, “A Plea”, stands out as a direct, narrated call for sanity with an emotionally urgent yell.
• Honora’s core strengths are its sincere jazz exploration, thoughtful trumpet work, and high-quality collaborations.

Themes

Critic's Take

Flea arrives with Honora as an uneasy, rewarding collage where the best songs reveal themselves slowly. Equally notable are “A Plea” for its near-eight-minute jittery jazz freakout and spoken-word manifesto, and “Thinkin Bout You”, a gorgeous cover where bass and trumpet trace the melody amid cinematic strings. These are the best tracks on Honora, the moments where Flea's minimal, pensive playing truly shines and the album's disparate parts coherently add up to beauty.

Key Points

• Frailed is best because its long-form, cinematic ambience lets Flea's trumpet and compositional instincts fully bloom.
• The album's core strength is its minimal, pensive moments where trumpet, bass and strings create cinematic, jazz-informed moods.

Themes

Critic's Take

Flea's Honora feels like a long-held artistic exhale, part trumpet manifesto, part groove laboratory, and the best tracks - “Traffic Lights (feat. Thom Yorke)” and “Frailed” - showcase that blend. Jurek's prose lingers on the textured dynamics of “Traffic Lights (feat. Thom Yorke)”, where Yorke's croon and lithe jazz-pop arrangement make it a clear highlight. The nearly 11-minute “Frailed” is described as a labyrinthine, vanguard jam that lets Flea and guests roam, making it one of the album's centerpieces. Elsewhere the tenderness of “Thinkin Bout You” and the elegiac reading of “Wichita Lineman (feat. Nick Cave)” round out why listeners asking for the best songs on Honora will find these tracks most rewarding.

Key Points

• Frailed is the best song because its sprawling, 11-minute, labyrinthine jam showcases Flea's adventurous improvisation and ensemble interplay.
• The album's core strengths are instrumental virtuosity, textured atmospheric production, and collaborative arrangements that balance warmth and exploration.

Themes