When I opened up Spotify on 2nd June and saw the Adjy had just released an EP, I got metaphorical whiplash of the highest degree. I had just fallen in love with Adjy for both their The Idyll Opus (I-VI) and Prelude (.3333), and like a coincidence gone right, I get another one from them just like this, no waiting? I felt blessed that day, for sure.
June Songs Vol. 1 isn't as significant to the main storyline, but feels more like an exploration of the world the narrative is built in and the lives of the people in this world outside of the main plotline. The sonic textures are largely the same as its predecessors, but it's narrative nature is not as heavy as The Idyll Opus (I-VI). It does hit the nail on the head pretty well as a small collection of songs that revolve around the life of the character June, both in how he is represented narratively and sonically throughout The Idyll Opus (I-VI).
Stepping in the Same River Twice starts off with just drums and sudden vocals, with that kind of lyrical rhythm that feels homely to Adjy, before the rest of the band comes in. I love that they continue to reuse melodic motifs from the same universe to reaffirm that it's all from the same story, while modifying it just enough so that the song remains unique. This song for the most part has the same youthful energy of some of the main album tracks that I associate with June (and July), like the two A Boy Called June tracks.
June Song takes a bit more of a calmer and laidback approach, acting as a pseudo title track. Also reusing melodic motifs, June Song also goes a slight step further and reuses a few lyrical motifs (but not before changing it up a bit). The lyrical content as a whole feels more poetic and closer to the story, especially with lines like "in terminal need now we race to the center of life" feeling like a callback to how The Idyll Opus (I-VI) ended. They continue to evoke a lot of the literary meta-narrative that goes as far back as their Prelude (.3333) EP (and maybe even further back to their Grammatology EP, I've yet to find out). Sonically, this song does not see too much variation, but it's the lyrical standout.
Here Here has the most country folk vibe of them all, and also feels the most like what I imagine the soundtrack to their countryside would be like. Between the folkier music elements and the different vocal melodies and cadences, the song just has a general outside, carefree vibe. Much like June Song, it doesn't see much sonic variation, but lyrically it really feels most akin to worldbuilding. It's musical narrative worldbuilding, if that's a thing.
Idioglossia is the softest song on the EP, yet may be the most profound-sounding track. Bringing back older lyrical motifs of white stones and throwing in some very poetic divine-related lines, "killing Abel never made God proud" being a repeated one. The calmnes gives this song a curious resemblance to the Secretus Liber track off the main album, albeit not as long or as emotional.
One 4th of July sees the most elements of Adjy on one single track. The whole band in play, weird and choppy lyrics that they somehow make sound nice, generous use of gang vocals, reusing lyrical and narrative motifs, and tying a lot of it to the literaries of extensive mythologies. The main concept of time that perpetuates through The Idyll Opus (I-VI)'s story shows itself again, and through the lyrics we can see exactly how much of their previous works continue to tie in to each other, between pinions, fireworks and centers.
June Songs Vol. 1 writes like an expansion of the world of The Idyll Opus, and in certain ways can be viewed as songs that June himself wrote (it is, after all, mentioned in the narrative that he has a band). The timeframe of these songs aren't exactly linear or relative, but they serve to give listeners a new perspective of other parts of the story, and I love that. I'll admit that I was a tiny bit disappointed it didn't have the same emotional weight and poignancy of The Idyll Opus (I-VI), or the kind of sonic excellency that Prelude (.3333) had, but I'm happy nonetheless that I get to experience any new music from them at all.
Rating: 8/10