Twelve Days in June - A Bittersweet Season of Lament

Twelve Days in June

A Bittersweet Season of Lament
self-released; 2020

3.7 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Twelve Days in June is singer/songwriter Dave Hulegaard. He recently released A Bittersweet Season of Lament which is a nine-song album. Hulegaard mentions, “As a teenager, I dreamed of writing hard-hitting rock songs in the vein of Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins. What came out sounded more like The Lemonheads.” He also mentions artists like Juliana Hatfield, The Posies, and Red House Painters as influences. I’ve been a big fan of Red House Painters in particular and knew exactly what he meant when listening to his music. His songs do rock but very much in the vein like The Lemonheads and Red House Painters. Some of this is due to the fact he implements an acoustic guitar but I would also say it’s more subtle than that.

He opens with “Dissolve” and it starts with him strumming an acoustic guitar and vocals. His vocals do have a melancholy like quality. I felt like he was lamenting most of the time but it didn’t come off as melodramatic. The song is also quite catchy and easy to appreciate. As the song progresses drums, subtle distortion and bass are added into the mix.

“Callow” amps up the energy. It’s another catchy song but also a slow burn of sorts. The run time is six-and-a-half minutes and there is a lengthy instrumental section which is the outro. “Crutch” continues to build a foundation for the album. One thing I noticed is the drummer rarely settles on a beat. It seemed like there was another fill every measure.

You then get a song like “Tapestry” which is an eight-minute song. There is a subdued section towards the end which is just acoustic guitar and vocals. “The Bleeding (For Natasha)” was definitely one of the more rocking songs while “Lost at Sea” contains heartfelt lyrics and emotion. “Paint” is an arguable highlight. I loved the bass on this song. “Under a Pale Moon” perfectly blends hope and melancholy. He closes with “Caroline” which hits upon more of his strengths.

My only critique is that I thought some of these songs would have been more powerful if they were shorter. On some of the songs that eclipse the six-minute mark I felt they could have been trimmed down mainly because not that much more is being introduced into the song.

​Overall, I thought this was a cohesive release with good songwriting. I can say if you are a fan of the aforementioned bands this will be right up your alley. Take a listen.

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