Hello June Live at the Rustic Church

“bright, blissful rock that shimmers, even throughout its darker moments”

– NPR –

Hello June formed in the hills of Morgantown, WV after core members Sarah Rudy (guitar/vocals) and Whit Alexander (drums) met as tenants of a particularly communal apartment building. Their debut six-song EP, Spruce, fittingly unfolds as if an expression of self-discovery, where languid reflection is never as far from catharsis as it seems. NPR featured their

single “Dance” on Heavy Rotation and hailed the Spruce EP for its mix of driving, indomitable hooks and ethereal, sustained tones, noting its, “blend of bright, blissful rock that shimmers, even throughout its darker moments.” In January 2018, Hello June was featured in NPR Music’s first ever Slingshot class, a program where NPR-affiliated stations nominate exceptional emerging bands.

Hello June’s self-titled debut album is another shimmering slice of 90s nostalgia that manages to build on the stellar sound of it’s predecessor. They announced the new album after premiering its first single “Mars” on NPR Music, who described the single as “a song worthy of national attention… a pulsating slice of 1990s comfort food that will shake the stardust from your heartstrings.” Rudy’s as assertive as she is compassionate, and you can hear these qualities all over her lovingly crafted, deftly narrated music, which is the world she builds to escape the toils of her daily life. Her hushed vocals endow her lyrics with an irresistible charm while her carefully crafted guitar work builds up single melodies and riffs into surging oceans of distortion similar to Madeline Kenny. This rare combination of guitar-generated atmospherics and lyrical intimacy are at the heart of many of Hello June’s tracks, but most notably on the album’s two closing tracks “Momma” and “Handshakes.” Others, like the album’s second single “Candy Rain” and “Stranger,” exude that air of relaxed confidence of early Tom Petty.