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The Jazz June

The Scars to Prove It

(Universal Warning; US: 30 Oct 2007; UK: Unavailable)

Though the Jazz June were often thought of by press people as a low-key prog group, these days they look like Band of Horses and sound like the Midwest’s answer to Pinback.  After releasing some five or so albums at the start of the millennium, the group soon went on hiatus in 2003, returning only for the occasional one-off show.  The Scars to Prove It is a CD/DVD combo that is mainly a tribute to a good band friend who was diagnosed with having a brain tumor, leaving the band to assemble a charity show for him at the start of 2007.  What’s unfortunate, however, is that though there’s no denying the band’s talent, they have a real knack for covering a lot of the same musical ground time and time again, often coming across like a good college-rock band who write hooks that are servicable but not extraordinary.  They perpetually feel like they’re just one song away from writing that instant pop-rock classic, which is something they do at the end of their set when they unleash the one-two knockout punch of “At the Artist’s Leisure” and “When the Drums Kick In”.  The CD portion is a smattering of rarities, live recordings and radio sessions.  Best of all is the inclusion of their 2005 Passed Out on the Studio Floor EP, featuring such delicious rock numbers like “Sputnik - 1957” and the very Pinback-affected “Lower East Side”.  The live material is so-so (the live DVD is a much better foray for them), but when you see that all of this is going to a very good cause, it’s really hard to come down too hard on the band’s weaknesses.  It’s not the greatest disc you’ll ever buy in your life, but when the hits outweigh the misses, it really doesn’t matter that much in the long run.

Rating:

Evan Sawdey began contributing to PopMatters in late 2005 after contributing for years to his college newspaper The Knox Student. Evan became the Associate Interviews Editor for PopMatters in the summer of 2008, and then the full Interviews Editor a year after that. Since joining, Evan's work has been written for and been quoted/featured in a wide array of publications including SLUG Magazine, The Metro (U.K.), Soundvenue Magazine (Denmark), the Daily Dot, and multiple national newspapers. Evan has been a guest on WNYC's Soundcheck (an NPR affiliate), was the Executive Producer for the Good With Words: A Tribute to Benjamin Durdle album (available for free at GoodWithWordsAlbum.com), and wrote the liner notes for the 2011 re-release of Andre Cymone's hit 1985 album A.C. (Big Break Records) and the 2012 re-releases of Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder's standalone 1985 pop effort (Virgin/Gold Legion), the JoBoxers' 1983 debut album Like Gangbusters, 'Til Tuesday's 1985 debut Voices Carry, and Plastic Bertrand's 1978 album AN 1 (all Hot Shot Records). He is a current member of The Recording Academy and resides in Chicago, Illinois. You can follow him @SawdEye should you be so inclined.


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