June "If You Speak Any Faster" CD
[Victory]
What the hell's up with the fact that this record cover looks a shitload like Kiss' "Music From the Elder" or something!? Anyway, this band hails from Chicago, which is now to emo what Seattle was to grunge a decade ago, and while I can't help but compare them on some level to fellow Chicago natives (and labelmates) Spitalfield, or even a less childish Fall Out Boy (that locale's current didn't-see-that-coming darlings) in terms of some of the vocal arrangements, there's also a healthy dose of Hot Rod Circuit type stuff in there in terms of overall dynamics and rock underpinnings, and this is definitely another Victory band that I'd rather see get huge than some of the other emo junk that's selling loads of records these days. This one's just all about catchy as hell songs, and I love this shit when it falls under the right circumstances like this. There's just no denying a song like "Patrick" with its awesome vocal harmonies and zesty chord progressions with just the right amount of subtly rocked out flare. But hey, if you can pull off a song like "My Side of the Story" that's driven by acoustic guitars and keyboards and have me actually stomach it on all levels (hell, I think I even like it)... well, I have to commend you. And that, my friends, is what this band has accomplished. This is just a great fuckin' CD of totally catchy songwriting that, while often über radio friendly, doesn't feel all that cheesy to me in terms of its overall character. Despite some pretty damn high-pitched vocal harmonization the core vocals don't strike me as too nasally and they definitely don't feel whiny or anything like that, and there's enough going on musically to feel like there's substance here: It's catchy, but it's not mindless pop shit or anything like that. It's nothing new or anything, expect plenty of tempo changes, a few clean passages interspersed with the distortion, some rocked out flavor and occasionally a barely heavier edge, lots of melodic lead lines and zippy palm-muting type stuff, you know... that kind of thing. "I Write B Movies" is among the few tracks that brings in some faint keyboard accompaniment, but it's also one of the only tracks that I don't care for as it's a little less energetic, and unlike the softer "My Side of the Story" the synths don't really fit in here - they almost conflict with the other instruments. The production is pretty good. A little dry in certain areas, and polishing that stuff up to add more oomph would make one hell of a difference in the long run, but I didn't really pick up on the minor hitches until I listened to it in headphones. The drums are amply crisp and clear without leaving a pretty warm realm, the bass is well defined, while the soaring vocals and massive levels of vocal harmonies tend to run the show right alongside the guitars. I'd say turn the bass up and give it more low-end, then do something to warm those guitars over and punch it up a little, then you'll be all set. I'll tell you this, man, this CD could be a blueprint for other comparable bands to take note of just how important vocal harmonies are for this style of music, because these motherfuckers are layering vocals all over the place and I'm eating it up. I don't know what's going on with the layout. The cover looks weird and nothing else is all that interesting, but at least the text is clean and consistent. Victory's been pulling this shit lately where they'll try to trick you into thinking you're getting the full package, but then you open the booklet and get a bunch of hokey biographical bullshit instead of the real content. But this one has lyrics in it so I'm assuming this is what the actual release will look like (sans all the "Not for sale!" shit printed all over it). The lyrics are definitely better than average for emo since they're not completely sappy and annoying in terms of metaphorical nonsense, so... they're not gonna blow any minds or whatever, but the content's definitely tolerable from what I'm picking up: "Save your tears, evacuation is slim to none. You see the flicker of light through the thick of the smoke and now you wish you could make it out." Great stuff for the most part. As with most of these bands the songwriting's not consistently dead on, so there are a few tracks that kind of waver in terms of total quality, but this is a hell of a debut, and I'll be a little surprised if these dudes don't start to pick up some steam out there. What can I say? I'm a fan. I'll actually be really interested to hear more from June in the future. (7/10)
Running time - 37:26, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Patrick, Scandals and Scoundrels, The City, I've Got the Time if You Have the Argument]
Victory Records - http://www.victoryrecords.com

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