June

June: If You Speak Any FasterIf You Speak Any Faster (2005)
Victory Records

Reviewer Rating: 2

User Rating:

Contributed by: Ben_ConoleyBen_Conoley
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on October 21st 2005There's just nothing here. I'm sure the guys who make up June love what they do and are genuinely into this type of music, that being power-pop-punk in the vein of Taking Back Sunday and Brand New. But the music they make as portrayed on If You Speak Any Faster is simply void of any sense of ori.

There's just nothing here.

I'm sure the guys who make up June love what they do and are genuinely into this type of music, that being power-pop-punk in the vein of Taking Back Sunday and Brand New. But the music they make as portrayed on If You Speak Any Faster is simply void of any sense of originality or character. If this album didn't come with a case or any labeling, leaving me it up to me to decide who this was, I would have put $100 on it being Taking Back Sunday post-Tell All Your Friends.

Some people say that critics have no place telling the world (or at least whoever is reading) that a piece of art is no good. Well, as a product, If You Speak Any Faster is great. Brian McTernan's production is spot-on, making these guys sound more polished than a freshly dyed head of jet-black hair. Simply put, this is a good product. The vocals are clean when needed and aggressive when it suits, and the guitars are mixed just right. Punk, and I use that term loosely, has never been so accessible.

So yeah, it's a great product. But it's a disposable one. June is nothing more than a cute band full of MTV potential. Victory Records has some serious money in their accounts right now, and in all likelihood, this will make them some more. It's also going to make 99 cent bins a lot of money pretty soon, too. I don't want to generalize, but that's because the type of people who are going to buy this album are the type of people who are going to sell it four months down the road when the next quasi boy-band comes along.

It's bands like this that make me hesitant to tell people I listen to punk music. I love punk rock, but this isn't it. It's just packaged as punk and it's an insult that Victory would try to pass it off as anything more than the musical equivalent of a disposable razor. It's sharp, but at the end of the day, it's totally useless.

[originally written for Europunk.net]

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

allon (December 10, 2007)

The album sounds pretty good, but the vocals are often mediocre and a few songs one after another can get boring after a while. A decent release, but there's more interesting things out there.

Anonymous (March 3, 2006)

June is the best band out right now. I really like what they bring to the table. I would really recomend checking them out because they rock!

GO JUNE VICTORY

Anonymous (February 10, 2006)

junes a good band

cutepreppyemochic (February 9, 2006)

june rocks!!! have you seen their "patrick" music video?? it rules!!

Anonymous (January 6, 2006)

june is fuckin' awsome

crazytoledo (January 4, 2006)

I guess all the members in Junes' favorite movie is Stand By Me, which is a good movie.

Their video for "Patrick," their only good song, they completely rip off all 4 characters and what do they go through in the video is the same as the movie.

It at least made the video a little bit more enjoyable.

thejewvolta (December 22, 2005)

guess who else sucks besides June?
just about everyother band on Victory

Anonymous (October 31, 2005)

So now it's ok to judge an album by what the band's name is?
I personally liked the this album alot.
The only problem I had with it was they advertised for it too much.

Anonymous (October 26, 2005)

The idea that you would have to "hang out with the band" in order to accurately judge their musical output might just be the silliest thing I've read on this site. Are only people that know the band, hang out with them, and talk with them about their perspective on music allowed to have an opinion about their work? I see you've made no attempt to hide the fact that you are either a family member of close friend of the band and are simply upset that your friends got a bad review.

Anonymous (October 26, 2005)

Please find below a band's member comment about the review.

Anonymous (October 26, 2005)

i cannot believe all the bashing going on, Has anyone actually met the band, hung out with them, listed to their perspective on their music. You know this is pretty sad that others have to bash a good album.

It has decent hooks and lyrics, thier live performances have energy, plus you know that they are having fun playing their music. Key word "their". When you go out and write an album get signed by a record label and tour your ass off to only be torn apart by people who consider themselves critics it is, in a way, a slap in the face.

Given you like the music style or not my opinion or yours does not really matter the only one that does is the bands. But i tell you this that if noone liked their music do you think they would have been able to release a full length album?

as for them sounding like fall out boy, are you retarded? That is the only question i have for you. June does not sound exactly like fall out boy. If you spent more than one minute listening to the music you would realize that they have elements of them but are not carbon copies. As matter of fact Pete wentz helped them get on their feet, and you all know they are from the same area.

But that aside, I just dont understand why people limit themselves by listening to one style of music or labeling something pop, or punk or something in between. It is very simple music is music.
punk was an idea/lifestyle not a way of playing a fricken song.
i guess it is to each his own.

As for myslef i have sepnt a long time listning to albums that i dont like but later find that i end up loving them,

it is pretty simple don't judge a book by its cover , in this case dont listen to a band for a few seconds and prejudge them, listen to it more than once or twice than make a decision.

Personally I am a supporter of peple like june that love music and try hard to let other hear what they have, it takes alot of determination and guts, and a critic can sit there and say o this isn't origional, but what really is origional anymore? take a bite and chew on that a while. Critics are people who are very pessimistic in nature and are always looking for that bad in things. Why not study the lyrics of songs to maybe understand a deeper meaning? or the complicated structure of songs in music theory?

what ever you all are gonna think or do after reading this or dismissing this as garbage i hope that you take some insight to actually understanding music and that its is a form of expression and having fun, who gives a shit if they sound like someone else so long as they sound good and actually have meaning behind their songs.

Anonymous (October 25, 2005)

Finally a well written review.. what a surprise it was written for another site. hahaha

I THINK I saw june with Punchline a few months back. If it weren't for the fact that the venue was only half full (in Chicago no less) I would have SWORN it was Fall Out Boy, until I saw Pete walking around in the crowd. I suppose that's a compliment to June's singer, love or hate Fall Out Boy they do have good vocals, but it's also kindof a slap in the face to be completely indistinguishable from another band from your own hometown.

Oh well, I haven't heard the new record but I feel safe in believing every word this review says.

crazytoledo (October 25, 2005)

My bad, oh yeah - check out Buried Inside, they fucking rule!

So true...

superdude (October 25, 2005)

This comment was pretty good, but here's how I would make it better:

1. How do you know?

darkstarm (October 24, 2005)

this really you superdude?

best review i've read on this site in a long time.

this band is pretty bad, i'm afraid chicago is getting a reputation for producing the most bland emo-pop bands evar.

oh well, at least we still have the lawrence arms. march '06!

SilentStorms (October 24, 2005)

www.reactwithprotest.org

My bad, oh yeah - check out Buried Inside, they fucking rule!

SilentStorms (October 24, 2005)

but everyone, seriously, check out June Paik at, I think, reactwithprotest.com records. Holla.

SilentStorms (October 24, 2005)

P.S. thanks for the first post too.

SilentStorms (October 24, 2005)

Ahhh Superdude. I loved how your second comment was even better than the first post. Thank you!!!!

Anonymous (October 23, 2005)

this band has a 30-second commercial on Fuse.

i thought "eh, that sounds ok, i'll look it up on Limewire".

but it must not have been the same band, because THIS ALBUM BLOWS!

Anonymous (October 23, 2005)

Wasn't this bands original name Drive Like June? Their music still sucks ass, but at least they changed the name.

pabstboy (October 22, 2005)

Great review.

pabstboy (October 22, 2005)

Great review.

superdude (October 21, 2005)

My comment was pretty good, but here's how I would make it better:

It was by me.

Anonymous (October 21, 2005)

This review was pretty good, but here's how I'd make it better:

1. There's no mention of the band's haricuts. Any sweeps going on?

2. Is this review available on iTunes?

3. You actually like punk rock? Does that even exist anymore?

4. So.....does that mean I should listen to it while dying my hair?

Anonymous (October 21, 2005)

please write more reviews...

etwiels88 (October 21, 2005)

There's a band from around here called 'Memphis In June', speaking of month bands and whatnot...

Anonymous (October 21, 2005)

This band blows and this review is totally accurate. Score is for the review!

SilentStorms (October 21, 2005)

Has ANYONE heard June Paik from Germany before? C'mon someone!?!?!

skaboom (October 21, 2005)

Ides of July
Dismemeber August
Come September

(just google any month band)

OverDefined (October 21, 2005)

nice review

Anonymous (October 21, 2005)

one of the best reviews i have read on this site.

Anonymous (October 21, 2005)

victory has become one of the worst labels...every release they put out the last years sucked

xblakeyoung (October 21, 2005)

I heard this and it blows. I saw this band with Zolof and I even thought they wrecked Zolof for me.

You know what this sounds like and that isn't a good thing. Pass.

fallingupwards84 (October 21, 2005)

So we had The Early November.
And then we got Mae.

And now June.
hmmm

lou (October 21, 2005)

the first song isn't terrible... but that's as far as i got, if that tells you anything.

etwiels88 (October 21, 2005)

I hate these types of booklets. Like the Trainwreck one. Where it folds outward and there is another book inside of that piece of paper...or whatever.

They suck.