June Of '44
Tropics and Meridians

THE REVIEW

"In a June of 44 review, not mentioning Fugazi is an unforgivable sacrilege" (N.I.B.II.O)

"Fugazi, there you go: mentioned" (Captain Howdy)

1996 was, from my perspective, an interesting year; indeed, without fear of causing a stir, I'll say musically it is my favorite: "Aenima" by Tool and "Boys for Pele" by Tori Amos, just to name a few.

"Tropics and Meridians" is a mini album (6 songs), it is the second work of the Louisville superband and it indeed came out in that wonderful year, becoming one of its most representative works.

Post Rock, Math Rock, Indie Rock, New Psychedelia: several are the genres in which June of 44, over the years, have been included (someone even dangerously linked them to Grunge) and indeed a classification is difficult for a band that rises from the ashes of groups (Codeine, Rodan, etc. etc.) which in the early '90s, following in the footsteps of ensembles like Slint, forever changed the concept of Hardcore, taking it to decidedly unclassifiable levels, so vast were the sounds they drew from and, above all, for how wide the consequences were in terms of influence for future generations of musicians interested in a minimalistic and "aesthetically" (if you'll allow the adverb and the subsequent noun) Punk approach.

I used the term Punk only for reasons of philosophical inclination of the four from Kentucky because "Tropics and Meridians" is a complex, measured work, too rational to be included in that vein, but as you teach me, one thing is to appear, another is to be: finally the image is not against the music but the music that transcends the image.

Like in a deliberately disordered script, this little jewel moves between an almost recited singing and psychedelic sounds that often hold "rough" surprises, mainly provided by guitars contrasting with the harmonic structures of individual pieces: a "lucid" chaos set within a seductive order, which if at first listen may leave you puzzled, over time reveals itself as a seducer.

Songs like the "noisy" "Anisette" and that anthem to the new Galactic Era that is "Sanctioned in a Birdcage" perfectly represent the interlocutory state in which one travels in the Tropics and Meridians drawn on the musical map of the band with a Millerian name: while Anxiety and other contrasted feelings like Fear and Restlessness alternate with others of absolute tranquility, giving vent to the desire to firmly imprint one's internal conflicts in (others') minds, but also the desperate search for a way out of the claustrophobia of feeling fragile in a world lost behind the nonsense of appearances. A call for help and a Declaration of intent: "Tropics and Meridians" amazes in the short term, seize its essence.

Mo.