![\"junk\"](\"http:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/03\/junk.jpg\")
\u201cIt\u2019s good for your soul,\u201d the black cat sings, through sunshine and summer rain, fueling the freight train.<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s good for your soul,\u201d the black cat sings, through sunshine and summer rain, fueling the freight train.<\/p>\n
This is how Jack Funk displays their track listing for their debut EP, \u201cGood For Your Soul.\u201d About half the words in that phrase are highlighted to signify the titles of the tracks, but the more prominent correlation here is length: For as short of a sentence as that is, the five songs that the quartet offers here go by even quicker.<\/p>\n
Is it an indication of how strong and seamless the set is? Or does it all add up to one big empty feeling, a collection of music that leaves the audience confused as to why there isn\u2019t more? Is it an adequate illustration of the band\u2019s strengths? Or does it feel like they left something on the table?<\/p>\n
Truth is, all of that is probably true. \u201cGood For Your Soul,\u201d short in stature but tall in execution, shows signs of brilliance all the while never shaking the feeling that it might just be a tiny bit incomplete. The good songs are better than your average funk, but the weaker songs comes across more useless than they should.<\/p>\n
Consider the title track. One of the EP\u2019s most solid moments, it slinks forward at a slimy, groovy pace. Guitarists Nick Ring and Nick \u201cBoops\u201d Buppert have real chemistry, one providing spacey leads while the other gives the production a tangible warmth that comes complete with a very unique and tastefully rhythmic texture. It doesn\u2019t hurt that Ring\u2019s gruff-yet-soulful vocals work well on top of such an atmospheric feel, either.<\/p>\n
Yet when the funk goes, so does the intrigue. \u201cSummer Rain\u201d is a ballad by way of late-\u201990s alt rock, almost like Soundgarden having lunch with Dave Matthews band. It\u2019s not awful, but when you have the word \u201cfunk\u201d in your name, it\u2019s hard not to hope for just a little more than a slowed-down classic rock meditation on getting clean. Because, contrary to popular thought, occasionally going from loud to soft and soft to loud doesn\u2019t always necessarily mean you\u2019re an elaborate band. It just means \u2026 well, that you can occasionally go from loud to soft and soft to loud. And that\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n
The same can be said for the lone Boops original, \u201cBlack Cat.\u201d Led forth by an acoustic guitar smothered in Spain, it\u2019s probably the best locally-bred Flamenco song this column will see this year \u2026 but again: It also veers a little too far from where you want the band to go. Sure, it\u2019s exotic and fun and even a little cute; it\u2019s just not completely imperative. It\u2019s a song that transports you to an evening along the Mediterranean Sea when what you were hoping for was a sweaty night at an underground house party.<\/p>\n
And you get that very underground house party with the final track, \u201cFreight Train.\u201d The EP\u2019s best, most energetic moment comes complete with Brad Newman\u2019s funked up bass and a makeshift bridge that breaks the groove in half as backing gang vocals create the type of fun you were hoping might come a few tracks earlier. Ring even has a bit of white-boy rastafari in him, which serves the project better than well, his occasional inflections in tone here adding true flare to an already-jam-tastic production.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a shame there isn\u2019t more of that on \u201cGood For Your Soul.\u201d It\u2019s a solid EP, yes, but it\u2019s also an EP that simply just leaves you knowing these guys can do better. Plus, at only five songs, it\u2019s hard not to wonder where this quartet might go next. Should we expect more classic-rock-leanings? Or will the exciting, interesting textures of \u201cFreight Train\u201d and the title track expand into more complex, more compelling compositions somewhere down the line?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no way to tell now, of course, but either way, count this as a vote for just a little more funk, and just a little less Jack.<\/p>\n
** 2 1\/2 STARS OUT OF 4 **<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cIt\u2019s good for your soul,\u201d the black cat sings, through sunshine and summer rain, fueling the freight train. This is how Jack Funk displays their track listing for their debut…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-523157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523157\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}