June
and the Exit Wounds - "a
little more Haven Hamilton,
please"
"For Fans
Of: Soft-pop, The Left Banke, The Beach Boys…"-Blank
Pages
"…will
simply delight all those who worship at the church of Wilson."-Amplifier
"June & the
Exit Wounds carry on the vocal harmony tradition in grand
style."-Pure Pop
The
multi-instrumentalist pop prodigy surfaces again. After recording
two sold out Parasol
7" singles under the name Twiggy, Champaign native Todd
Fletcher receded to the background. He backed up Nikki
Sudden on some Chicago recording sessions, is all over the
new Chamber Strings CD, played piano for post Moon
Seven Times etherealists Shotgun Wedding, and currently is
the drummer for cow-punk corn-belt queen Angie Heaton. On
the cover of his debut CD, recorded under the moniker June & the
Exit Wounds, you can see Todd is quite comfortable shouldering
a guitar. For years he’s had an open ended album offer
from Parasol Records. This is the result.
"a
little more Haven Hamilton, please" defies easy
categorization. It’s
not quite baroque-pop (not really sure what that is, but
I know it when I hear it), or orch-pop (no major string
sections here), and definitely not power pop (Todd left
his crunchy guitar at home). It is upbeat and arrangement-intensive
sophisticated pop for fans of upper-echelon songwriting.
Ok, there’s some Beach Boys influence here. And in
the in-some-parallel-universe-this-would-be-a-hit-department, "Let’s
Shack Up Together" comes as close to successfully
marrying Brian Wilson-like vocal arrangements to naïve
pop sentiment as has been attempted since, oh, "Good
Vibrations." Additional highlights include the "oooh" outro
to the opening cut and Todd’s tribute to British dance-pop
diva Cathy Dennis titled…Cathy Dennis.
How did Todd settle on the name June & the
Exit Wounds? Todd answers, "‘June & the
Exit Wounds’ is a name my friend came up with for
if her mom had a band. ‘Exit Wounds’ reminds
me of the Sneakers first ep, cos it was kind of inspired
by the Kennedy administration. It was my favorite stuff
in high school, so that's why I like that name. Plus it's
kind of an old-style name but it's not something anyone
would have come up with when that sort of name (joe blow
and the so'n'so's) was in vogue. It appeals to me cos it's
like going back in time to find babies that were thrown
out with the bathwater and doing something different with
it, so it's like it's from another dimension, y'know?"
Other
musicians: Ed Schaller-bass, Brendan Gamble-drums, Brian
Wilke-guitar, Ellis Clark-bass & background
vox, Kevin Junior-vibes & background vox
June & the Exit Wounds /"a
little more Haven Hamilton, please"
Parasol, 1999
If
I had a penny for every time someone told me that a certain
album sounded like the Beach
Boys or the Beatles or the Byrds or insert-name-here...well,
I would be a rich man. And, of course, I am, thanks to a
surfeit of outstanding pop releases in this not-yet-completed
first quarter of 1999. Hearing an album like the one now
on offer proves to me that I am very rich, indeed. There
is a lot of Beach Boy blood pulsing through this record's
veins (there are other blood types present, too). The brainchild
of Champaign, Ill. native Todd Fletcher, who released a pair
of seven-inchers on Parasol under the unlikely moniker of
Twiggy, "a little more Haven Hamilton, please" is
a delightful, melodic melange and a true classic of the soft-pop
genre. Multi-instrumentalist Fletcher wears his influences
on his sleeve, but the mix doesn't pretend to be copy cat-ish
in nature. Nothing could be further from the truth. "a
little more Haven Hamilton, please" is not a Beach Boys
tribute album, nor is it a tribute to any of Fletcher's influences;
it is, rather, uniquely Fletcher and a wholly original sounding
project. In the end, it wears its own heart on its own sleeve.
The
opener, "How Much I Really
Loved You," sounds for all the world like a lost Todd
Rundgren mid-tempo ballad--like the kind Rundgren used to
write. There is perhaps just a tinge of Beach Boys in the
background vocals, which sets the stage for much of the rest
of the album. "Highway Noise" is a warm nod toward
the boys of summer, with all the hallmark touches. On "Field
Day," Fletcher takes off from the Beach Boys vocal style
to fashion a harmonic, mid-tempo paen to love. Fletcher sounds
all the world like Carl Wilson singing in a supper club (and
that's a good thing, indeed) on the mellowed-out torch ballad, "I
Shouldn't be Surprised." This song has atmosphere to
spare and is quite affecting. "Let's Shack Up Together" is
similarly Carl Wilson-infused; a powerfully-soft vocal punctuates
the proceedings. There is a bit of a Burt Bacharach influence
on "Straight to My Head," which features a rich
Beach Boys-y background vocal stack. Pure heaven. You just
cannot go wrong with "a little more Haven Hamilton,
please." Todd Fletcher has fashioned a beautiful, everlasting
kind of album. The "group's" name aside--make sure
not to scare the kiddies with it--there isn't a single misstep
here. June and the Exit Wounds carry on the vocal harmony
tradition in grand style.
Alan Haber - March 8, 1999
Pop Culture Press
June & the Exit Wounds
by Brian Baker
Most
of the likely candidates for snapping this album up and loving
it like oxygen are
going to be thrown off the trail by the name, which has all
the earmarks of a late '70s punk band selling their single
in the classifieds in the back of Trouser Press. Nothing
could be further from the truth in every respect. A little
more Haven Hamilton, please is pop of the sweetest, purest
vintage, and June & the Exit Wounds is a band only in
the loosest context. J&TEW is primarily the work of Todd
Fletcher, who doesn't seem to be busy enough drumming for
alt.country diva Angie Heaton, recording singles as Twiggy,
backing up Nikki Sudden, contributing to the Chamber Strings'
new one or playing with Shotgun Wedding. He has a few guests
throughout Haven Hamilton, including Brendan Gamble on drums
and Eddie Schaller on bass, but with Fletcher on virtually
every other instrument and writing every song, it's pretty
clear which monkey is stopping this show.
Haven
Hamilton is a pastiche of bright pop in the Brian Wilson/Beach
Boys vein, but that's
just a first impression. Much of Fletcher's work has the
evocative brilliance of the piano pop of Todd Rundgren's
early work, particularly the era that produced The Ballad
of Todd Rundgren and Something?/Anything!, with a little
Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson and Matthew Sweet thrown in for
good measure. Vocally, Fletcher is a slightly more brittle
and vulnerable singer than any of the aforementioned vocalists,
so he makes up for it by writing exceptionally strong material
so the flatness of the vocals is barely an issue. The Rundgren/Wilson
mind meld starts right off with the disc's opener, the gorgeous "How
Much I Really Loved You," sporting a lilting melody
that incorporates equal parts of "I Saw the Light? and "God
Only Knows" to great effect. When Fletcher switches
the focus to guitar, he has the sprightly pop spark of middle
period XTC ("Field Day," "Hey Hey Hey").
Fletcher shows his versatility on the lounge pop of "I
Shouldn't Be Surprised" and the dancey funk of "Cathy
Dennis," and then jumps right into Newman/Nilsson territory
on "Let's Shack Up Together." The slightly left
of lo-fi edge of Haven Hamilton may keep this out of widespread
radio contention, but Fletcher and his revolving cast have
created a pop gem that deserves to be considered in the same
light as Rufus Wainwright's vaudeville pop debut from last
year. Todd Fletcher can hide behind pseudonyms all he likes
but there is a pop ethic that runs through a little more
Haven Hamilton, please that will raise his profile in spite
of his best efforts to remain faceless. (Brian Baker)
"Four Stars, Debut album
of so-normal-it's-strange pop-rock from latest American boy
wonder." ---Paul Lester (Uncut, April 2000)
Interview from Uncut:
Why
June & The Exit Wounds? "It's
the name of my friend's mum's band. Not that she actually
got a band. I just thought it was something people would
remember and complain about."
And Why Cathy Dennis? "Because
I love her. I had to pay 30 bucks for her last album on import-
Andy Partridge wrote one of the songs."
Are you the post-grunge Barry
Manilow to Ben Fold's Billy Joel? "I don't know.
I just know that 'Mandy' [Manilow's 1975 hit] has got cool
modulations in the chorus, and real complex chord changes."
Have
you seen That 70s Show[ nostalgic US sitcom with title
music "In The Street" courtesy
of Big Star, performed by Cheap Trick]? Talk about
power pop heaven! "Oh, yeah. Alex [Chilton] had to
change the line from 'Wish we had a joint so bad' to 'Nixon's
gone but rock lives on.' It's good that he's getting paid."
Your music has that happy/sad
feeling you get from TV cartoons…. "I've
got all the Peanuts soundtrack CDs. I love The Archies,
too. And The Partridge Family, I saw that TV show[ based
on Danny Donaduce's book] -there was a face-off with The
Brady Bunch!"
"June & The Exit Wound's
lush easy listening pop evokes a candlelit, velvet walled
lounge….ALMHHP's 10 fluffy piano ballads bounce along,
smiling with each midtempo step….Fletcher's swooning
falsetto and the layers of Beach Boys-styled harmonies slather
on an extra-sweet icing. For Fan's of: The Carpenters, Ben
Folds Five, Neil Diamond" ----Kelso Jacks (CMJ New
Music Report, April 19, 1999 Issue 614 Vol. 58 No.4)
"It's easy-listening, old
school lounge music…Without a trace of irony to the
lyrics, but a little Smashing Pumpkins angst to band leader
Todd Fletcher's voice, this debut album keeps you groovy
and amused." ---Renee Kaplan (Gear)
"Fletcher's
ear for arranging voices and sonic sensibility will remind
you of, well, Brian
Wilson. And lest you think this is just a lot of pretty sounds,
Fletcher is a cerebral yet intuitive tunesmith whose knack
for turning a phase will leave you yearning for more. One
of the year's sleepers" John Holcomb (Blank Page,
Vol. 1 Issue 1)
"While lush, sophisticated
Wilson-esque melodies, bouncy piano arrangements, and tight,
snappy guitar lines float gently from your speakers, you'll
scramble to check the liner notes to make sure you are indeed
listening to a records from this decade. The vocal similarities
between Fletcher and Brian Wilson are at time uncanny, and
the sweeping harmonies of the backing vocals on tracks like
the album highlight "Let's Shack Up Together," and
the ooh-ooh outro of "How Much I Really Loved You" will
simply delight all those who worship at the church of Wilson." Joe
Lutz (Amplifier, Vol.4 No. 3)
Though June & the Exit Wounds
rarely plays live, raves continue to spread by word-of-mouth
based of June's recorded work. The band will have a new song
included on a CD sampler in an issue of the Japanese Magazine
Beikoku-Ongaku, and is contributing a cover of the song "All
I Want To Do" for a Beach Boys tribute to be released on
Germany's Marina Records. Finally, Todd Fletcher is in his home
studio
recording the follow up to "Haven Hamilton," which should be released
in the summer of 2000.
Note: Be sure to check out the
self-titled Signalmen CD on Parasol.
Band member Mike Brosco recorded both bonus tracks on the
upcoming European version of June's "Haven Hamilton."
 
From UNCUT UK:
“Hailing from Urban-Champaign, a college town just south
of Chicago, by day Todd Fletcher is a systems operator. By
night, he is writer, singer, guitarist and pianist for June & The
Exit Wounds - a perversely inappropriate name for these delicious,
keyboard-coated pop confections. A Little More Haven Hamilton,
Please - which he co-produced with friend Ellis Clark over
at his mom's house because his neighbours didn't appreciate
the heart-rending balldads oozing romantic anguish through
his apartment walls - is the first record Fletcher has released,
although he recorded with postpunk ingenue Nikki Sudden (ex-Swell
Maps and Jacobites) as well as US orchpop outfit The Chamber
Strings.
The LP was finished back in March 1999, when it was distributed
by US company Parasol. It is now down to Marina - the German
reissue label for The Pale Fountains, The Bathers and sundry
other precursors to Belle and Sebastian - to spread the word
throughout Europe.
It
does sound like a group name, and yes, Todd recently got
together a band for some local gigs, but really, June & The
Exit Wounds is just a vehicle for Fletcher - the latest example
of that distinctly American breed: the multi talented wunderkind.
Like
the early work (1970-1 era)of his namesake and all-time hero,
Todd Rundgren, Fletcher uses a simple piano, bass and
drums configuration to pattern his lovelorn diary entries,
although unlike June & The Exit Wounds' most obvious contemporaries,
Ben Folds Five, the odd bit of guitar does creep into the mix
alongside the tortured boy vocals and poignant chord sequences.
He may be almost 30, but the words are pure teen angst. Look
at the Titles: How Much I Really Loved You, You're Breaking
My Heart, Awake All Night...
These may not be chaste devotionals, but neither are they
erotically charged lust songs. Imagine a world where development
is arrested around adolescence. Lets Shack Up Together is a
lyrical sibling of Brian Wilson's Wouldn't It Be Nice. Meanwhile,
the tune features a deliberate steal of the keyboard solo from
power pop legends the dBs' She's Not Worried.
And yet many of the influences on Fletcher's music are of
the pre- or non-rock variety: early Seventies bubblegum and
teenybop, easy listening (his parents were big Chicago and
Carpenters fans), show tunes and cartoon soundtracks. Oh, and
Cathy Dennis, the Britdisco popette from the early nineties
who was actually a cut above (she was into Laura Nyro, for
starters) and who has a track here after her.
Weird...but
nice."
======================
"Despite their punk rock name, Todd Fletcher's Chicagoan
band ply gentle symphonic pop. But it's pop rooted firmly in
the late Sixties/early Seventies tradition of Brian Wilson
and Todd Rundgren. Unlike our own (British) retro journeymen,
however, Fletcher's muse, at its best, is delicate, bright
and reflective. Standout You're Breaking My Heart is a gentle,
melancholic ballad that recalls Harry Nilsson in finest tearjerking
mode." - (Paul Connolly, Metro - The Times, 03/2000)
======================
"More than a new discovery, June & the Exit Wounds
is the vehicle for Todd Fletcher, a 30-year-old from a small
town three hours south of Chicago with a penchant for the exquisite
piano balladry of early Laura Nyro and Todd Rundgren - hence
the extraordinary resemblance between How Much I Really Loved
You and the Runt's 1970 US hit, "We Gotta Get You A Woman".
Fletcher has worked with ex-Swell Map Nikki Sudden and orch-pop
collective The Chamber Strings, and you can tell from his debut
album, A Little More Haven Hamilton, Please. Comparisons with
Ben Folds Five are inevitable, but only slightly obvious is
Todd's love of bubblegum (The Archies, The Partridge Family)
and soundtracks for cartoons, especially Peanuts." - (Uncut,
03/2000)
======================
"Curious name for a light and breezy soft pop outfit
steeped in the '60s sounds of the Beach Boys. An odd little
album too. Released in Europe on stylish german imprint Marina
- sometime home to the likes of Shack and The Bathers. Perky
melodies float on gorgeous vocal harmonies, vibes noodle and
a gently stolid piano lends a persistent air of melancholy.
June and the Exit Wounds appear to be the extravagant alter-ego
of one Todd Fletcher, from out of Champaign, Illinois. A hugely
impressive work." - (Time Out, 2/2000)
======================
"A Little More Haven Hamilton, Please is a pastiche of
bright pop in the Brian Wilson/Beach Boys vein, but that's
just a first impression. Much of Fletcher's work has the evocative
brilliance of the piano pop of Todd Rundgren's early work,
particularly the era that produced The Ballad of Todd Rundgren
and 'Something?/Anything!', with a little Randy Newman, Harry
Nilsson and Matthew Sweet thrown in for good measure. Vocally,
Fletcher is a slightly more brittle and vulnerable singer than
any of the aforementioned vocalists. The Rundgren/Wilson mind
meld starts right off with the disc's opener, the gorgeous
How Much I Really Loved You, sporting a lilting melody that
incorporates equal parts of 'I Saw the Light?' and 'God Only
Knows' to great effect. When Fletcher switches the focus to
guitar, he has the sprightly pop spark of middle period XTC
('Field Day', 'Hey Hey Hey'). Fletcher shows his versatility
on the lounge pop of I Shouldn't Be Surprised and the dancey
funk of Cathy Dennis, and then jumps right into Newman/Nilsson
territory on Let's Shack Up Together. The slightly left of
lo-fi edge of Haven Hamilton may keep this out of widespread
radio contention, but Fletcher and his revolving cast have
created a pop gem that deserves to be considered in the same
light as Rufus Wainwright's vaudeville pop debut from last
year. Todd Fletcher can hide behind pseudonyms all he likes
but there is a pop ethic that runs through A Little More Haven
Hamilton, Please that will raise his profile in spite of his
best efforts to remain faceless." (Pop Culture Press)
======================
"A Little More Haven Hamilton, Please is a pop-lite masterpiece
for the 90s. The vocals similarities between Fletcher and Brian
Wilson are at times uncanny, and the sweeping harmonies of
the backing vocals on tracks like the album highlight Let´s
Shack Up Together, and the ooh-ooh outro of How Much I Really
Loved You will simply delight all those who worship at the
church of Wilson." (Amplifier)
======================
"
A Little More Haven Hamilton, Please is a delightful, melodic
melange and a true classic of the soft-pop genre. You just
cannot go wrong with A Little More Haven Hamilton, Please.
Todd Fletcher has fashioned a beautiful, everlasting kind of
album. The 'group´s' name aside make sure not to scare
the kiddies with it there isn´t a single misstep here.
June & The Exit Wounds carry on the vocal harmony tradition
in grand style." (Pure Pop)
======================
"There is no electronic or synth anything, no sampling
on this debut album, just mellow California crooners, latter-day
Beach Boys jamming at the Tiki-ti with occasional falsetto
harmonizing and some piano-man sentiment. It´s easy listening,
old school lounge music. Let´s shack up together baby/
Make all the neighbours talk, and Cathy I really love you/
I want to touch you they say with earnest, Beatles-style candor.
Without a trace of irony to the lyrics, but a little Smashing
Pumpkins angst to band leader Todd Fletcher´s voice,
this debut album keeps you groovy and amused." (GEAR)
======================
"The indie pop record of the year? The craft is top notch
as well as the performance. A great pop voice with all the
right touches… A brilliant pure pop album that´s
as timeless as the heroes it mines for inspiration." (Yeah
Yeah Yeah)
======================
“Unapologetically Brain Wilson-ish, June´s Todd
Fletcher writes everything´s- so-darn-peachy arrangements
and then backs them up with with generous amounts of playfully
giddy lyrics. The few guitars that can be heard on the album
are mixed way back behind the harmonies and the vibes. How
Much I Really Loved You, Field Day, and Let´s Shack Up
Together all tie for most sensitive and sweet (in an Elvis
Costello & The Attractions manner). Not that every song
is all about sunshine and happy days, but with A Little More
Haven Hamilton, Please even the heartache puts a smile on your
face. Chamber Strings´ Kevin Junior kicks in some of
the Beach Boys-iest backing vocals ever on Highway Noise. June & the
Exit Wounds has a good thing going on here, take advantage
and give that silver lining a quick polish.” (Faster
Than Sheep)
======================
"Die Kleinstadt Champaign im US-Bundesstaat Illinois
scheint ein anregender Ort zu sein. Todd Fletcher jedenfalls,
Multiinstrumentalist und Sänger, wurde dort derart heftig
von der Muse gekuesst, dass er vorliegendes Album aufnahm und
sich damit prompt einen Platz unter den bemerkenswertesten
Debuetanten des neuen Jahres sichert. Die Rezeptur seiner elf
soften, poppigen Eigenkompositionen beruht auf einer Mischung
aus spaetem Brian Wilson, fruehem Todd Rundgren und einer Vielfalt
an ohrwurmartigen Melodien, die leider nur mit dem ueberstrapazierten
Woertchen "beatle-esque" treffend zu beschreiben
ist. Angenehm ironiefrei schwelgt der offenbar erst kuerzlich
von seiner Liebsten verlassene Fletcher im Gefuehlswirrwarr
und schwankt dabei zwischen ungestuemem Optimismus (Let´s
Shack Up Together), ungebremstem Sentiment (How Much I Really
Loved You) und triefendem Selbstmitleid (I Shouldn´t
Be Surprised). Nach viel zu kurzen 45 Minuten ist klar, dass
Kitsch hier kein Schimpfwort, dass aber lieblicher Beach Boys-Westcoast-Pop
das Allergroesste ist, und dass eine vergessen geglaubte britische
Dancing Queen in der amerikanischen Provinz noch immer ueber
gluehende Verehrer verfuegt (Cathy Dennis). Die Tristesse,
die in den Texten so ungebremst zum Tragen kommt, wird von
fluffigen, manchmal geradezu froehlichen Arrangements wieder
aufgefangen. Mit haemmerndem Ben-Folds-Piano und sehnsuechtigen
Harmoniegesaengen deutet Fletcher sich (und uns) einen Weg
aus dem Jammertal. Das Leben, man weiss es ja, ist eben bitter
und suess zugleich. Und jetzt ganz schnell noch bisschen mehr
Haven Hamilton. Bitte!" (Rolling Stone 2/2000)
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