Some music seems to defy any real classification. A sound that slips effortlessly between pop and rock, absorbing what it needs from both; it is rootsy and accessible – that perfect balance of authenticity and infectiousness- it brushes by many genres without ever fully committing to any one. It is full of great narratives and lines that make you go…“Yep, I’ve been there”; it can be peaceful or pacey, gritty and graceful, and although the songs might be new to you, they land on your consciousness like an old friend. Given enough time to seep into the musical landscape, such music often ends up being labeled merely “classic”; for now, it is called June, and it is the latest album from Scott Allen and the List.
Take the opener, ‘Sweeter Than Before’; old-school rock ‘n’ roll echoing into the new age in all its groovy, graceful, and glorious glory. And while the song sets a great tone for the album, the fact that the title track, which follows, is a lazy and languid and lovely piece of dreamy pop, sun-soaked and serene, shows us right from the off the two ends of the spectrum that Allen’s songwriting runs between.
‘Wool Hat’ has that 60s innocence running through it, jaunty, joyous and full of fun, a long-lost Monkees track, surely? ‘Made of You’ is a spacious, heartaching piano piece all understatement and atmosphere; ‘Some Rainy Day’ echoes with the sounds of southern borders; and ‘Quietly in the Night,’ ironically, struts infectiously through the music space, boogiesome and bold.
I know that it is wrong to say things like “music was better back when…” well, _June seems to be the best of both worlds past and present, an album built from older sonic echoes and earlier, higher songwriting benchmarks, yet perfectly at home in the here-and-now. Perhaps that is exactly how you secure the future for music.
