The duo has been perennial favorites on the New York City music scene for nearly a decade, building a dedicated fan base, and receiving rave reviews from the critics for their distinctive sound. On "Runaway Favorite," the Professor and Maryann add drums, bass and strings to their already lush sound. The duo's strength is in its simplicity, Danielle's sensuous vocals playing off Ken's elegant harmonies and subtle hooks. UPI wire service ======== This Staten Island duo plays the kind of soft acoustic folk pop that is . . .stuff worthy of P.J. Harvey. I dig it." Amy Phillips, The Village Voice ========= "rich, old-fashion pop" TimeOut New York ========= "In today's turbulent sea of inconsequential chart-fodder, Professor and Maryann offer listeners an island of timeless, tuneful pop" Pop Culture Press ========== "Runaway Favorite One of the Best Albums of 2003". . . Runaway Favorite, is a gem-albeit a dusky amber topaz or a peridot-beautiful and wonderful, but also not at all usual. . press and fans agree on one thing...Professor and Maryann makes for great music-hands down some of the most wonderful stuff you've never heard" Rock Reviews ========== "Runaway Favorite lyrically walks down many small town and city roads of the United States, while telling the enigmatic stories of many characters to be found on those journeys. While his (Rockwood's) song themes tend to be fiction, somewhere inside those crime-inspired tales usually exists a love story. Rockwood's songs are character-based, with each person having their own special trait His song writing influences include Cole Porter, George Gershwin and modern artists like Tom Waits. The mysterious and dark voice of Danielle Brancaccio could not be a better fit for Rockwood's dissonant compositions. Chorus and Verse =========== "Danielle Brancaccio has a truly unique and beautiful voice that is unbelievably perfect for the music that plays around her. I don't think I've heard a better marriage of music and voice then what is contained within these eleven tracks. If you give this a listen, this will be your "Runaway Favorite" of the year" Smother.net (Editor's Pick) ========== " The album opens beautifully with the slow-moving Bible And A Gun. A gently plucked guitar weaves its way around Brancaccio's mellow vocal that's a formidable mix between Buffy St. Marie and Eartha Kitt. It's got to be one of the most distinctive and gorgeous female voices around at the moment . . . a superb album . . . Essential" Shakenstir -UK ========== . . . intelligent adult pop music, written by NYC based guitarist and songwriter Ken Rockwood and singer Danielle Brancaccio, using the identity Professor & Maryann, whose wonderfully husky, world weary and tender vocals dominate. The instrumentation is diverse, violins, theremin and tubas share equal space with the usual band instrumentation and there is a wonderful lightness of touch in the production. Closer "Ten Tubas" is that rarest of things, a Christmas song that one can listen to without feeling nauseous, never have sleigh bells sounded so appealing. Professor and Maryann have produced a diverse album of distinct and unusual songs which bear repeated listening. Too late for entry into this writers top 10 albums of the year, this must assume an honourable 11th place Americana UK (Editor's pick) ============ Metaphorical storms have appeared in Ken's lyrics, but real thunder rumbles during "Roof of the World," a slow and sultry song on Professor and Maryann's latest CD, the aptly titled Runaway Favorite . . .As atmospheric as it is intimate, "Roof of the World" presents another place two people go to get away from it all. In "Bible and a Gun," meanwhile, "two modern day sinners" try to make their getaway, but end up going nowhere fast. "Electric Metropolis" finds the speaker and an unnamed "you" plunging into a city described as a "hidden world," a "busy world," a "surreal world," a "sunken world." Elsewhere, "it's a world of clowns," a three-ring circus you don't want to join. "Every other minute," as another song puts it, "it's the end of the world." The only answer, in "Chariot," is to turn passionate love into a form of motion and ride off. We'll be "thick as thieves" as we make a killing, or something, at the dog track--in fact, as we run like dogs. "Ten Tubas," the CD's closer, avoids schmaltz and transcends holiday cheer by being funny, catchy, musically daring, and more than a little odd. That not every listener will appreciate this music, that not every musical subculture will consider it "cool," represents just part of Runaway Favorite's value. As always, Professor and Maryann sound delighted to inhabit their own little world, which fits them perfectly. "I'm just one of the millions who / spend their days dreaming like fools" is a key couplet in Runaway Favorite's "Wish Symphony," an almost trip-hop-like shuffle that could serve as Professor and Maryann's manifesto. "There's a hopeless romantic hanging on the words of a song," it explains. If you're that kind of person, this might be your kind of music. Perfect Sound Forever (Editor's Pick) ========== Professor and Maryann perform regularly at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City. . . . a live music venue dedicated to promoting talented indie artists. http://www.rockwoodmusichall.com