John Harrison’s diminutive Captcha-code of a musical moniker, jphono1, belies a deep local indie-rock legacy, one that already touches three decades and is reaching for four. This dude fronted North Elementary! Was an early drummer for the Comas! Hell, he probably played the triangle in Arrogance as a child or something. (OK, we made that one up.)
That legacy goes on in a particularly charming new jphono1 album, Loblolly Boogie, due out June 14 from Potluck Foundation. Whereas earlier jphono1 releases were more thickly layered, often with backing by rhythm section The Chevrons, the project has tended more solitary and spare, a trend that continues on “I’ve Let All My Hair Grow,” which we’re premiering today. More pastoral folk than groovy jam band, the tune nestles frantic guitar phrasing in melodic simplicity, and the unadorned directness of the vocals is contrasted with wordy lyrics that are nevertheless plain in their emotional legibility. Though it’s streaked with trippy vibes, it’s a clear, clean song where you can see straight down to the bottom.
Harrison is also a visual artist (a fifteen-year-old painting of his, with a row of Xs and Os stenciled on a soft pink field, happens to be hanging above the desk where I’m writing this), and Loblolly Boogie doesn’t stint on the visual. With the physical album comes a sleek lyric-and-photo book in which local musician and photographer Kevin Clark pays homage to the titular tree. Check out the understated video for “I’ve Let All My Hair Grow” below, and look for the album and book release show at Nightlight on June 21, with Evil English.
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