Sarah Rudy, Hello June & The Best New Music Now
- Editor Oh Yeah
- Aug 7, 2023
- 3 min read
The weekend takes us all. Takes our time and attention away from things both for good reasons and the lesser. We all need to rest and recharge sometimes. Hope you got the chance to do either or both. Happy Monday to you.
So, what are you listening to?
I’m listening to “Interstate” the new single by Hello June.
photo: Hello June's Sarah Rudy by Rafael Barker
Hello June is an amazing West Virginia indie rock band led by the phenomenally talented Sarah Rudy. Their self-titled 2018 debut album consisted of alt-radio ready mid tempo rockers that were radiant, airy, and catchy as all get out.
Just watch and listen to this:
That was “Candy Rain.” It should come as no surprise after hearing that one, that Hello June was praised by NPR, Paste and No Depression and the band increased their following thanks to the momentum of good press and word of mouth about their live shows. I had the great pleasure to see them back in 2019 and let me tell ya, Sarah’s understated, cool and smoky voice combined with their deft axe wielding skills made everything on Hello June’s debut sound and feel 100X more massive and more immediate.
photo: Hello June's Sarah Rudy by Casey Bowers
Fast forward five years later and Sarah Rudy and Hello June are back with Artifacts due out October 2023 via Tiger Records.
Here is the video for the first single, “Interstate.”
Phew. Amazing, right?
What’s still there is Rudy’s unbelievable gift for writing a beautiful, amazing, perfect pop song with heart-aching lyrics and gorgeous melodies. The guitar parts twinkle and shine, that bass cooly slinks and plunks along (that bass part at 2:15 that signals the outro is just perfect) those drums thump and crash with pop precision, and Rudy’s soft and airy voice moves seamlessly in and out away from the mic like only a great lead singer pulling double duty as lead guitarist can. The chorus is catchy as can be. Like I said, it’s a pop song, in the way that R.E.M. and Sarah McLachlan wrote pop songs.
What’s been added since 2018’s release is Rudy’s more confident sounding singing voice – even as they sing about the passing of their father.
photo: Hello June's Sarah Rudy by Rafael Barker
Early on in the song, when the guitar fades out and the drums enter just long enough to build up before everything falls away for Sarah Rudy to ponder: “And I don’t know if I’d make you proud.” And with a warm “BRRMM” the guitar and drums punch out before Rudy continues “But I’d really like the chance to try.”
And with that line…Holy Hell, fam.
Just forget about it.
THIS is how you write a damn song.
If you don’t tear up a little, you’re either a robot or dead inside.
Another amazing American songwriter, Oklahoma’s John Moreland said in 2013 “Nobody Gives a Damn About Songs Anymore.”
photo: John Moreland, NMF 2014 by Casey Bowers
This is an amazing song, too. It’s in the same ilk and avenue of "Interstate" by Hello June.
I’m just glad that ten years later, wonderful American songwriters like West Virginia’s Sarah Rudy and Hello June are ignoring Moreland’s sentiment or answering his call and meeting the challenge.
The subject matter of “Interstate” is heavy – the loss of Sarah’s father to addiction and the singer lovingly longing for more time and more chances to say everything they wanted to. That heaviness is apparent in the lyrics and there are heartrending moments that teeter towards despair, but Rudy deftly does what all great artists do whose art is lasting: Rudy transforms their grief from this personal tragedy into something beautiful and universal.
photo: Hello June's Sarah Rudy by Rafael Barker
“Interstate” is a song that serves as a touching tribute to Rudy’s late father by painting a portrait of a difficult or complex person (READ: a human being) and recollecting a vivid, particular memory that is emblazoned in their mind.
Through “Interstate,” Rudy takes the pain of loss and grief, pays a touching tribute to a loved one, and provides solace to you with a perfect singable, hummable, steering wheel drummable pop song that makes you remember, makes you feel, and makes you want to listen to this song on repeat.
I’m not old enough to be Rudy’s father, but I am a father and I think with “Interstate” Sarah Rudy has every reason to believe they should be exceptionally proud indeed.
-Casey Bowers
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