The Jazz June
They Love Those Who Make the Music
Initial
I am very excited to be reviewing this record, because I am an enormous Jazz June fan, so keep that in mind.
The fine folks at Initial have just reissued this record and another pre-_Breakdance Suburbia_ recording [The Boom, the Motion, and the Music], much to the delight of their fans, who would previously have had to pay many dollars for the records, long out of print, on eBay. They Love… was The Jazz June’s first record, originally being released in 1997.
With that in mind, They Love… is fairly typical mid-‘90s emo, in that this record resembles The Promise Ring’s Nothing Feels Good crossed with later Cap’n Jazz. The guitars are melodic and harmonious, the drums are big, the song structures are complex, and the bass is chunky. The main difference between today’s Jazz June and They Love… is that the band isn’t as poppy now, and they’re much more mature these days.
Sadly, the Jazz June of present tends to get lumped into the CURRENTLY stale “emo” category; in 1997, their sound was somewhat unique, but now, thanks to the villains at Deep Elm and Vagrant, the sound is commonplace. On They Love…, The Jazz June were discovering themselves and helping to create a genre which would eventually be over-saturated with crappy bands pretending to be Mineral. They Love… is a testament to their creativity and the delightfully unique vocals of singer Andrew Low. Fans of the band, yes, this is totally worth buying; people new to the band, start with 2000’s The Medicine.
Initial Records: http://www.initialrecords.com
