Seriously accomplished set of raunchy gems from Baltimore outfit.
When you have a look at the June Star website, a wonderfully jaundiced and witty description of the band reads – “the band was formed in 1998 by singer/songwriter Andrew Grimm, and since then they have put out 21 records, toured a bit of the US and have gone into debt“. A wonderfully honest approach to PR and one which works brilliantly. One can’t help but be interested to hear what the music’s like when that’s the feel of their creativity. And what an unexpected treat this is – a set of mainly upbeat, rocking tunes with a wealth of musicianship, some superb playing and just fantastic songwriting. This reminded me of the best of Green On Red’s material, grungy, tuneful and catchy songs, aided no end by Grimm’s superb voice.
After making 21 albums, for the songs on this collection to sound as refreshing and memorable as they do is nothing short of astonishing. Grimm is backed up by a stellar bunch of musicians (the line-up of the band has changed a bit over the years), Dave Hadley on pedal steel, David Bryson on drums, Chris Iseli on bass, and Michael Zepeda on guitar. Hilariously, on the publicity material, not only does Grimm say he’s the band leader and singer, but also “Manager/Publicist/Songwriter/Plumber“. I like Mr Grimm – a lot.
Opener ‘Long Time Running‘ has percussion, guitar, and harmonica, with some subtle pedal steel, combining to form an atmospheric introduction to Grimm’s latest selection of gems. Gentle yet upbeat, it’s a lovely start. ‘Give It Some Time‘ has a glorious rock riff as the core to this superb song, with more pedal steel wisely added to the mix. Stand out track on the album – a corker. Next up is ‘Ruins‘, which again balances lovely, raunchy guitar licks with pedal steel, and Grimm’s really effective vocals only enhance the song with a pounding drum backbeat. The perfect combination of electric guitar and pedal steel works well again on love song ‘Bound To Rain‘, chugging guitars abound on another strong track ‘Goodbye Boys‘ and ‘Burn Bright‘ is another catchy, moody rocker.
The Replacements come to mind big time on punchy raunch belter ‘Switcheroo‘, a short but sweet, near-perfect tune. The album closes with a very different feel, an acoustic, heartfelt and bleak yet hopeful ‘This All Will End,’ which has a festive setting but isn’t a jolly ditty at all. Powerful stuff.
This is an excellent release – a near-perfect showcase for Grimm and his myriad talents, and demonstrating his knack for working with only the best local musicians. Production from J Robbins, who used to front Jawbox and owns and operates Magpie Cage studio in Baltimore, is peerless. Try and track this down and quickly.
