33 The Jazz June, ‘The Medicine’ (2000)
Originating in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, the Jazz June were pure fodder for music theory fans. On third album The Medicine, the band goes beserk with searing melodies; shrill, math-y ad-libs; and surprise detours in time signature. The band dials down the antics to soak in the euphoric daze of “At the Artist’s Leisure – Pt. 2”; then cranks out a jazzy, sensuous cadence in “Motörhead’s Roadie”; and caps off this opus with an experimental 10-minute jam. For the album, the band worked with Don Zientara and J. Robbins at Dischord-frequented Inner Ear, whose work vocalist Andrew Low had admired since his teens. “I have a very vivid memory of driving from Kutztown in an enormous snowstorm on the first day of the session,” said Low. “The roads were pure ice but there was nothing that was going to stop us from getting to D.C. to record that record. We were so excited we would have died trying.”S.E.
