Records: June of '44's Four Great Points

By Daniel Silk

Four Great Points, huh? Maybe there really is truth in advertising. Now all we need is four more, and we've got ourselves a really good album.

In past recordings, June of '44 subscribed to the theory that if you're going to play something, you might as well play it for at least six minutes in an unusual time signature. As an ethos, I suppose this is as good as any, especially considering that June of '44 has got the indie-rock genes to pull it off. Descended from underground luminaries, including Rodan, June of '44 occasionally makes music astounding in the acuteness of its vision. The band's song on Touch and Go Records' Lounge Ax compilation, "Rivers and Plains," was a creeping, murderous math-rock voyage, drowning out songs by other, better-known artists like Guided by Voices and Archers of Loaf.

Like last year's Tropics and Meridians, Four Great Points succeeds when the band absorbs itself in a deep, tricky groove, such as in the opener, "Of Information & Belief," which splashes around in the shallow end for two verses before sinking into a thick, nasty bridge. Here the band is in prime form: the dual guitars launch their pointed attack from afloat while the monstrous rhythm section lurks beneath, snare pops poking out of the mix like dorsal fins.

June of '44 members have long connected themselves with the sea in their song and record titles, and not without reason. However, on Four Great Points, they leave most of the odd-timed trappings behind in favor of a groovier feel. Gone are the moments of dizziness that accompanied older songs like "Lawn Bowler," moments that convinced me I was getting seasick. Four Great Points finds the band trying ambitiously to incorporate new textures into their previously limited sound. Two of the album's eight songs lean toward hip-hop, an arena in which bassist Fred Erskine and drummer Doug Scharin prove themselves not just competent, but downright inventive."Lifted Bells" is not to be danced to: Scharin's fills are about as funky as surgery, each one a precise incision through the skin of a beat which refuses to die. Producer Bob Weston seamlessly fades all kinds of moods and sounds (including strings) in and out of "Lifted Bells," bringing to mind such pre-hip-hop statements as Miles Davis' Bitches Brew.

Unfortunately, Four Great Points doesn't sustain this wild ambition. Like past releases, it suffers from inconsistency. Sure, there's a few great points, but there's a lot of run-of-the-mill discordant filler that simply doesn't impact like "Of Information and Belief." Songs like "Shadow Pugilist" exist for no reason other than to occupy space on the record. Same goes for Sean Meadows' and Jeff Mueller's lyrics, which drift aimlessly towards barely meaningful. If these guys didn't sing half the time like they just lost a bet, maybe June of '44 could sail from one shore to the other.

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