TUNAGE – MMB

Where real music still matters

Each week, Glyn challenges himself to dig and find a track, group, or album worth your time. This year’s been hit or miss for me, but I’m showing up this week. Let’s get into the first band I’d like to discuss.

If you haven’t cranked up Goodbye June’s “Oh No” yet, you’re missing out on one of the purest jolts of modern Southern rock.

Look, there’s no shortage of bands trying to mash up blues, rock, and a touch of gospel, but Goodbye June actually pulls it off without sounding like they’re playing dress-up. “Oh No” — first dropped on their 2016 EP Danger in the Morning and later on the debut album Magic Valley — feels like a punch straight from the pulpit to the mosh pit.

The track doesn’t ease you in. It hits hard from the first beat, what the band calls a “church stomp” — a nod to their Pentecostal roots. You can practically see the sweat flying and feel the pews shaking. The “praise chords” and “shout beats” they grew up on bleed into the intro, but then they let it rip with snarling guitar bursts and Landon Milbourn’s gritty, howling vocals. If you’ve ever wanted to know what it might sound like if AC/DC and Led Zeppelin had a love child in a Tennessee chapel, “Oh No” is your answer.

Lyrically, the song is pure defiance — all about barreling through whatever stands in your way. It’s not trying to get deep or philosophical; it’s a raw, gutsy anthem about survival and momentum. Sometimes you don’t need poetry, you need a rally cry.

And the impact? Massive. Not just because it hit No. 30 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart — though that’s no small feat — but because “Oh No” found its way onto Madden NFL 17 and even blared out as the theme for WrestleMania 32. You can’t fake that kind of reach. When a song’s got enough voltage to fire up gamers and wrestling fans alike, you know it’s got legs.

As a fan, “Oh No” feels like a rare moment where a band finds the sweet spot between raw tradition and modern punch. Goodbye June isn’t just recycling Southern rock tropes; they’re electrifying them. It’s gritty. It’s loud. It’s sweaty. And damn, it’s good.

Goodbye June’s energy, grit, soul, and boldness is exactly what so many bands today are missing. They aren’t just playing rock; they’re living it. Crank up “Oh No” and see if it doesn’t shake something loose.

And if you’re hungry for more, their 2022 album See Where the Night Goes is absolutely worth a listen. It’s a thrill to hear a band beginning to find its full voice. The album leans harder into their Southern roots while sharpening their songwriting and tightening their sound — bigger hooks, tougher riffs, and even more soul. Don’t be scared. Go listen to them. Feel what real rock is supposed to sound like.

See you next week with another pick that deserves your ears.

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