March 27, 2020 — “Twitch” by Miss June

Miss June

If you only listen to one song today, make it “Twitch” by Miss June (2019, from the album Bad Luck Party).

Miss June is a indie rock/punk/power pop quartet from Auckland, New Zealand. They signed to Frenchkiss Records last autumn and released their debut album Bad Luck Party on September 6. Nearly every review says that they sound like Sonic Youth mixed with some more contemporary, more pop-oriented band. To my ears, they sound like the noisy post-punk awesomeness of Sonic Youth and the energetic power pop of Veruca Salt.

After releasing a 7″ record last summer, the band booked a few shows in the UK and US, and wowed audiences with their high-energy, raucous performances. They were set to embark on a European tour and two US shows this May, but that tour will obviously have to be postponed.

I learned about the band yesterday while I was going through the massive pile of emails that have been accruing since I went on a writing hiatus in 2018. Although I’m a little late to the boat on this, I’m glad I didn’t miss it entirely.

“Twitch” by Miss June

That’s 1990s-era Sonic youth all day. And that’s a beautiful thing. There’s a tiny “quiet” bit in the middle of the song, but there’s a gloriously noisy part from 2:05 to about 2:28 when hell breaks loose. The guitars are searing and the drums are wild. My favourite bit of that section, though, is the fuzzy, crunchy bass line. It deserves a second and third listen just for that bit.

You can get the “Twitch” single, from Bandcamp, but unfortunately the full album isn’t available for download from Bandcamp or from Frenchkiss. You can, though, buy an album download from Amazon or similar.

For fun, here’s a video for today’s song, full of late-80s flair: