Its rare that an album comes along that I just love - in its entirity. I mean every song.

This is that rarity.

A work of sun drenched genius that makes me happy, sad, wistful and positive as the phrases of the songs change. Bill is a criminally under-rated songwriter and Molly has a voice to melt the hardest of hearts.

Purchase this album now, and give your heart and soul a treat.

They don't get much better than this. It's the perfect summer album: warm, breezy, and carefree. (No wonder it's called "June.") The ghost of Burt Bacharach haunts many tunes, along with bits of smooth jazz, and bows to Suzanne Vega, Eddi Reader, Swing Out Sister--all the really great, emotive songmakers of the last few decades. There are so many moods, not just from song to song, but from note to note!

It kicks off with "Girl on a Wire" with a seductive, double-track vocal that recalls Everything But the Girl. That's followed by a collaboration with Marshall Crenshaw, typical of his style: "Truly, Madly, Deeply." Next up is "One-Sided," a slick, jazzy tune with a Michael Franks tone. "Safe & Sound" has a laidback, late night groove that sounds like a long lost Tom Jobim melody, with Molly Felder singing an earthy vocal a la Astrud Gilberto. "Have You Ever Been in Love" is a playful number that recalls Nilsson. My favorite cut on the album, "My Mistake," sounds like the best song Jane Siberry never made. It's a powerful song of lost love, with an incredible vocal.

In short, "June" is one of those rare albums that will transport you to amazing places for less than the price of a tank of gas. It's a trip you'll not soon forget.

Pop doesn't get much better than this. Soulful yet wonderfully crafted, quirky yet comfortingly familiar, and fantastically performed throughout, "June" is the kind of record that comes to light all too infrequently today. Any fan of thoughtful, relaxed and intelligent pop should check this out.

Swan Dive is one of the hippest pop groups around with a very distinct, unique and infectious sounds around. One listen to any of their albums and you'll be totally enraptured them. Bill DeMain pens some of the best pop songs you'll ever hear and Molly Felder's voice just lifts the words off the sheet music and imprints them on your heart.

"June" marks the groups 5th album and is their strongest offering yet. The 80/20 ratio found with most albums cannot be applied here. Each track is a winner - I seriously can't pick a favorite. Just put it on repeat in your CD player and get lost in the sound of this precious gem.

For those of you who may be lamenting the current state of Top 40 radio, with its hip hop flavor of the week and syrupy ballads by divas who are more interested in vocal gymnastics than actually singing, fear no longer--Swan Dive is back.

Songwriter Bill DeMain has the knack for writing great 3 to 4 minute retro-pop songs with more hooks than a drag line, and Molly Felder know how to sing--not just hit a lot of notes in sequence, and her vocals area always appropriate and not overstated. Influences run the gamut from the latin bossa nova underneath so many great 60s pop hits to the Moog synthesizer, subdued backing horns, and strings we all remember from the 70s--yet somehow it seems fresh and not campy. Standout cuts include "Truly, Madly, Deeply", "Automatically Sunshine", and "Kaleidoscope."

Bill DeMain cowrites most of the tunes on this album, and his partners include Marshall Crenshaw, Jill Sobule, and Boo Hewerdine. There's a reason this group is huge in Japan--they make great pop music. Why they can't get a cup of coffee in the United States is beyond me.