JPHONO1 PRESS
"...the earthy slide guitar and Indian tunings of Led Zeppelin III; the pastoral, sighing melancholy of mid-period Pink Floyd; the "pretty daze" sensibility of Kurt Vile and the War on Drugs. Harrison's bemused but reassuring authority, exquisite taste in riffs, and ability to write lyrics that suit the celestial sprawl of the music convey just the right amount of trippy wisdom."
IndyWeek
Harrison’s playing seems to borrow from American Primitive and some of the more lush layers of Ben Chasny or Steve Gunn to take these songs in surprising places, and the band behind him locks in with a swampy thump, as if Gram Parsons’ Cosmic America took through Appalachia.
Popmatters (phuzz phest show review)
He's a secret sorcerer fighting the power of evil everywhere he goes.
There's Something Pretty Fabulous (long format interview)
Time In The Chevron is the first full-band release under that name; it's just as deliciously layered and shivery and complex as all JPhono1 tunes that have come before.
Speakers In Code
Indeed, each track on Know Your Clouds takes shape around a songwriter's kernel of some sort, butKnow Your Clouds' skewed pop is anything but an LP's worth of coffeeshop strums. Harrison's textures wend from pleasant instrumental hypnosis to hazy, electronics-led pop nuggets, punctuated by bursts of celebratory guitar rock. But it doesn't sound complicated. It jibes completely with Harrison's aura of nonchalance; he's prone to simply shrug and say, "I like to play guitar."
Indyweek (interview)
There are several long passages where the listener — and no doubt Harrison — lose themselves among the translucent synths and casual but welcoming weirdness before Harrison moves to expand on a world that feels both virtual and intimate at the same time. “Now that you’re here/ Don’t freak out,” he asks on “Don’t Freak Out” as the entire arrangement seems written for the sole purpose of counting time. That is, until a wash of Floydian noise assures that it is in fact okay to do so.
YES Weekly
The brilliant "Don't Freak Out" repeats a sweet little mantra about love before flying from the rails for two minutes, scrambles of noise cutting wide ruts across the simple melody. When he's done with the din, Harrison returns to that starry-eyed refrain: "Now that you're here," he offers, "don't freak out/ just fall in love."
Indyweek "Know Your Clouds" Review
Jphono1 excels at combining traditional songwriting with noisier landscapes. Living Is Easy proves to be full of great songs on the surface, but with a lot more substance underneath.
4.5 outta 5 stars from The Daily Tarheel
Throughout the album, there is an acoustic guitar, John's whimsically philosophical voice, and a synth zipping, zapping, and echoing in playfully thoughtful arrangements.
Secret Carrboro Ninja Patrol
These instruments and sounds form some kind of intricate but low-key space junk orchestra, as though while floating weightless on that horseback interstellar orbit, the astronaut reached slowly out to take hold of the ephemera jettisoned by other travellers, and brought them into harmony.
DouglasCowie Blog
Harrison has spent years tracing the indie rock lines that run from Wilco to Grandaddy, from The Flaming Lips to The Jesus and Mary Chain. Here, he uses the sharp sense of melody required in his main gig to plunder another chunk of indie-dom, particularly that of Sparklehorse and Drag City architects like Smog and Papa M. This collaboration feels like it was as good for the artist as it is for the listener
Indyweek
IndyWeek
Harrison’s playing seems to borrow from American Primitive and some of the more lush layers of Ben Chasny or Steve Gunn to take these songs in surprising places, and the band behind him locks in with a swampy thump, as if Gram Parsons’ Cosmic America took through Appalachia.
Popmatters (phuzz phest show review)
He's a secret sorcerer fighting the power of evil everywhere he goes.
There's Something Pretty Fabulous (long format interview)
Time In The Chevron is the first full-band release under that name; it's just as deliciously layered and shivery and complex as all JPhono1 tunes that have come before.
Speakers In Code
Indeed, each track on Know Your Clouds takes shape around a songwriter's kernel of some sort, butKnow Your Clouds' skewed pop is anything but an LP's worth of coffeeshop strums. Harrison's textures wend from pleasant instrumental hypnosis to hazy, electronics-led pop nuggets, punctuated by bursts of celebratory guitar rock. But it doesn't sound complicated. It jibes completely with Harrison's aura of nonchalance; he's prone to simply shrug and say, "I like to play guitar."
Indyweek (interview)
There are several long passages where the listener — and no doubt Harrison — lose themselves among the translucent synths and casual but welcoming weirdness before Harrison moves to expand on a world that feels both virtual and intimate at the same time. “Now that you’re here/ Don’t freak out,” he asks on “Don’t Freak Out” as the entire arrangement seems written for the sole purpose of counting time. That is, until a wash of Floydian noise assures that it is in fact okay to do so.
YES Weekly
The brilliant "Don't Freak Out" repeats a sweet little mantra about love before flying from the rails for two minutes, scrambles of noise cutting wide ruts across the simple melody. When he's done with the din, Harrison returns to that starry-eyed refrain: "Now that you're here," he offers, "don't freak out/ just fall in love."
Indyweek "Know Your Clouds" Review
Jphono1 excels at combining traditional songwriting with noisier landscapes. Living Is Easy proves to be full of great songs on the surface, but with a lot more substance underneath.
4.5 outta 5 stars from The Daily Tarheel
Throughout the album, there is an acoustic guitar, John's whimsically philosophical voice, and a synth zipping, zapping, and echoing in playfully thoughtful arrangements.
Secret Carrboro Ninja Patrol
These instruments and sounds form some kind of intricate but low-key space junk orchestra, as though while floating weightless on that horseback interstellar orbit, the astronaut reached slowly out to take hold of the ephemera jettisoned by other travellers, and brought them into harmony.
DouglasCowie Blog
Harrison has spent years tracing the indie rock lines that run from Wilco to Grandaddy, from The Flaming Lips to The Jesus and Mary Chain. Here, he uses the sharp sense of melody required in his main gig to plunder another chunk of indie-dom, particularly that of Sparklehorse and Drag City architects like Smog and Papa M. This collaboration feels like it was as good for the artist as it is for the listener
Indyweek