Description
The self-titled, final studio album by the American acoustic folk-duo Harrod & Funck (Jason Harrod and Brian Funck) was independently released on Heated Brick Records in 1997. The album was produced, recorded and mixed by Ric Hordinski of Over the Rhine and Monk fame. All songs written by Jason Harrod and Brian Funck except “Worry Too Much” written by the late singer/songwriter Mark Heard (who produced the duo’s debut album, Dreams of the Color Blind). “Walk Into The Wild” drawn from Chip Brown’s “I Now Walk Into The Wild”, The New Yorker, February 8, 1993.
Harrod and Funck, the new second album by the young Boston-based pairing of Jason Harrod and Brian Funck, is an worthy addition to the great tradition of singer-songwriter duos. They combine excellent lyric-writing with appealing vocal harmonies and tasteful arrangements that enhance, rather than distract from their songs. It’s intelligent music for the fan who prefers thoughtful, durable music over instantly disposable pop. [George Graham, NPR]
Five years after the release of their first album, Jason Harrod and Brian Funck finally return with a follow-up. This CD is a considerably more consistent listen than their very promising debut, Dreams of the Color Blind. Their songwriting has matured considerably (although their lyrics still occasionally seem forced or sophomoric). The superlative production on Color Blind is a tough act to follow, however, as it was the most inventive work of the late, great Mark Heard. The producer this time around is Ric Hordinski, the talented guitarist who helped found Over the Rhine. Hordinski would seem to be an excellent match for the Boston-based folk duo, because he has always done with electric guitars what Harrod and Funck do with acoustics: create three-dimensional, ambient landscapes of sound. But there is considerably less ambience under Hordinski’s direction than under Heard’s; the unique “hypnotised” acoustic sound the boys created so early in their careers has been largely de-emphasized in this album. There are still plenty of acoustic guitars (a few of the tracks have been recorded with almost nothing else), but often their familiar, mesmerized looping sound has been overshadowed by electric guitars – either glossy 1990s-radio-style jangling, or an intentionally strange, vaguely Talking Heads sound. In the latter case, the guitars seem to have been re-recorded a few speeds slower than they were played. The originality of the production is intriguing, once one gets used to the change, and to the fact that Funck’s most accessible songs («Ashes», «Wind In the Net») have been stylistically subverted. But Hordinski has perhaps failed to play to the band’s strengths – he has also made the pair’s harmonies virtually inaudible. Harrod’s earnest tenor is a perfect counterpoint to Funck’s resonant bass, and by themselves both voices can sound like extremes in need of tempering. Regardless of the weakneses, however, Harrod and Funck is a significant step forward for a talented pair of singer-songwriters. [Darryl Cater, AMG]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/harrod-and-funck/265188086)
CD tracklist:
01. 39 – 3:32
02. Ashes – 4:17
03. All Fall Down – 5:12
04. Brian Wilson’s Room – 3:30
05. Molly – 4:05
06. Wind In the Net – 4:12
07. Your Voice at Tidewater – 5:07
08. Walk Into the Wild – 5:57
09. Something – 3:26
10. Lion Song – 3:22
11. Worry Too Much – 5:10
Note: “Worry Too Much” was as well included on the multi-artist tribute album Orphans of God released on Fingerprint Records in November 1996.
Jason Harrod feat. Claire Holley – “Lion Song”
CREDITS. Produced, recorded, and mixed by Ric Hordinski. Mastered by Grey Larsen and Mark Hood.
Musicians: Jason Harrod (Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Harmonica, Omnichord), Brian Funck (Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, High-string Guitar, Percussion), Ric Hordinski (Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion, Organ Hammond B-3, Bass, Omnichord, Lap Steel Guitar), Brahm Sheray (Bass), Brian Kelley (Drums, tracks: 3,10), Chris Glen (Drums, tracks: 4,6,7,9), Tony Franklin (Drums, track: 2).
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