Released January 2019 on Frasco's own Fun Machine Records, Change of Pace is exactly what its title says — Andy Frasco & The U.N. dialing back the bourbon-soaked party-blues that built their live reputation and stretching toward something looser, hopeful, and a little more country. Frasco still leads from the piano with the same wisecracking voice, but the songs reach for sincerity instead of just the next punchline.
The title track was inspired by Frasco's friendship with Leftover Salmon's Vince Herman and gestures at a gentler life away from the road. "Let Your Mind Be Free" plays like a 2019-vintage pep talk ("stay woke," "speak up," "stay humble"), and "Waiting Game" leans into ballad territory. The U.N. — the rotating cast of horn players, guitarists, and rhythm section that backs Frasco — keeps the funk underpinnings intact while letting more space into the arrangements.
Cool stuff:
- Frasco's first album on his own Fun Machine label after a run of Ruf Records releases — the indie move tracks with the more personal songwriting
- The title track was sparked by Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon, with Frasco daydreaming about a house in the mountains
- Frasco hosts "The World Saving Podcast," a long-running music-and-mental-health interview show that runs in parallel to the band
- The U.N. is a rotating ensemble — different musicians from tour to tour and album to album, organized around Frasco's piano and vocals
- 11 tracks, almost all Frasco co-writes — a step away from the cover-heavy, party-set band identity
Spin it for: Andy Frasco showing he can write the slower stuff too — funk-soul roots music with more heart than holler.
Standouts: "Change of Pace" · "Let Your Mind Be Free" · "Waiting Game" · "Don't Let the Haters Get You Down"
Sources: Relix Review · Wikipedia · Discogs · Written in Music