Miss June – Bad Luck Party
(Frenchkiss Records)
Reviewed by Molly O’Brien.
Ah, Miss June… angry yet bouncy, girly yet butch, all round badassery with a maraschino cherry on top. Keying your ex-lovers car and falling in love at a bonfire. Both sunburn and the popsicle that cures it.
Having been stomping about Auckland for years Miss June are definitely the local pride and joy, however soon to be spread across North America and Europe in a two month long tour following the release of their debut album ‘Bad Luck Party’. Although we’ll miss our secret shining punks, the world needs Miss June like butter needs toast – so before we plunge into their latest concoction of musical party mix, godspeed to Miss June from the hometown homies. May your occasional showers be at least lukewarm.
Miss June is fluidity; fast, angry gut punches cradled by emotive and forlorn tracks to dive into while riding public transport late at night, choking on a heart full of maudlin. Doctor, model, frontwoman and lyricist Annabel Liddell has a plethora of personal experiences to weave into creations with her bandmates, all of which feel personable – akin to sharing a cigarette with someone and letting yourself be honest for the first time in too long. Having been birthed over the course of several years ‘Bad Luck Party’ features tracks such as old favourite ‘Twitch’, (a relatively peaceful tune written as an ode to a cadaver used in medical training), to brand new beauties like ‘Please Waste My Time’ and ‘2 Hits’, Bikini Kill esque headbangers bursting with self-assurance and a reminder to get pissed off about the right things.
Instrumentally the album ebbs and flows like sea water. Much like Miss June’s frequent theme of messy romance, creative riffs and tempo switches leave an unpredictable ride – with exception to ‘Polio’ where Jun Park’s guitar work creates anticipation, not dissimilar to the Jaws theme song. After all, according to track five ‘Orchid’, “There’s plenty of fish in the sea for a shark”.
Miss June has previously been inspired by the writing style of classic acts such as Sonic Youth and Weezer; these musicians respectively shining through with the singles released off this album, ‘Enemies’ and ‘Best Girl’. Lyrically and instrumentally ‘Bad Luck Party’ holds a candle to everyone, pop rock radio tracks your mum would love to electrifying, animated traditional punk – and no matter what end you gravitate to this album feels like skywriting with sparklers as a kid.
Miss June’s much loved tone of feminism, self-love and unabashed righteousness explodes from ‘Bad Lucky Party’ like an unattended Soda Stream. Their vinyl release insert sports the quote, “To all the ex-lovers, lost fathers and bad friends – thanks for the inspo”, a motivational reminder to turn lemon into lemonade. Bum date? One way friendship? Join the bad luck party and let your bad experiences be the Mentos to your creative pool of Coca-Cola.
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