Henry + The Invisibles | Onemanphunkband | New Music Review

Article Contributed by John Mosley | Published on Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Those on the Henry & Co. payroll say “breezy melodies and relentless grooves” are par for the course with Onemanphunkband... okay, I’ll allow it. Sure, this funky little EP doesn’t really go all that far, but does it even need to?

The Onemanphunkband sound is decidedly stuck a few decades en retro—I hear mined flakes of Rod Stewart and the Stones, back when everyone was goin’ disco; “Soul Shaker” is what would’ve happened if someone made Kool and the Gang pump out a track for a ‘70s police procedural; Prince might’ve dropped something like “Sing a Song” in an old album as filler—far as it goes, the short set book-ends between “As It Is,” a dragging standard, and “Phunky Cup,” which rounds things out with a traditional showcase jam that shows the most fire of the bunch, though it’s still comfortably in key ‘til the fade.

All in all, the Invisibles are giving us a light, easy listen here that won’t push too many buttons and shouldn’t have a problem slipping in with the usual weekender tracks on a sunny burgers-and-brews afternoon. Really, all you’ve got to ask yourself then is where you’re wanting to go—if it’s nowhere but the front porch for a whiskey or a tallboy, then you’re in luck; otherwise, you might be better off elsewhere.