Oral Groove - June




Jealousy.  Yes waveriders, I admit to experiencing this awful feeling.  I'm human, so sue me.  Wait...that was a joke.  Please don't sue me!  I really don't want to rely on that trusty insanity plea for my defense.  Sure it worked once, but there's no guarantee another judge would buy into what I would be selling.  Anyway what was I talking about?  Oh yes!  Jealousy.

Do any of you waveriders have a friend or family member who regales you with glorious tales of clearance/bargain bin treasure hunts that always seem to end with some priceless/quality artifact being acquired for an insanely low price?  Me too!  Hearing story after story of friends and associates bringing home hidden musical gems and classic albums for next to nothing allowed my jealousy to rear it's ugly head.  Life was being unfair!  Why couldn't I find these inexpensive musical treasures?  Then it dawned on me. 

In order to find the discounted booty I was looking for I needed to change my purchasing behavior.  I needed to shop for music at stores that actually had bargain bins/clearance racks.  Now I know what you're thinking.  How in the world could he have reached that conclusion on his own?  Believe me I understand.  Amazing revelations such as that sometimes occur to me out of the blue like a gift from the universe.  To make a long story short I began frequenting a chain of stores called Half Price Books and I immediately hit pay dirt.

Leafing through a shelf of $1 used CDs I spotted a band name that caught my attention on the spine of a jewel case.  Oral Groove.  Well that's a cool name I thought!  The name of the album was June, and when I picked up the CD I discovered that it sported an album cover that I would describe as spastic modern art.  Intriguing, and I had absolutely no idea what kind of music this band played.  Opening the case I found a small photo of three young guys on the back of the info booklet.  One was playing electric guitar, one was behind a drum kit, and the last was playing bass.  Alright, so some kind of rock n' roll.  What the heck, it was only a dollar right?  I bought the CD and popped it into my stereo when I got home.  Good decision!

June is a fantastically enjoyable album!  If you have a hankering for melodic garage rock with a clean modern production then Oral Groove is the band for you.  Actually, upon review I wouldn't necessarily classify OG as a garage rock band.  That vintage sound is definitely evident, but many of the songs on June are too punk to ignore.  Punk with heavy folk elements, but punk nonetheless.  Regardless of genre tag this music is overflowing with vocal and instrumental hooks, infectious energy, and good time cheer. 

Waveriders, I have played June many times and I assure you that this album is going to stay in my active rotation for some time.  If you can track down a copy I would strongly recommend that you pick it up!  Not only will you have some groovy new tunes to listen to, but you'll also inevitably have a 'treasure hunt' story to make your friends jealous.  It's a win-win!

- Penfold

Comments

Spike Direction said…
if you can find it, the second LP collisionville is really good too.
Gary W. said…
Bass player Ed Fingerling is a post-punk pop genius. Anything with Fingerling in the mix is worth a listen.