Just call June State Residential the comeback kids. After struggling for years, it seems that the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania-based band may have finally found its footing.Beginning with a high school venture called End of a Dream, the band eventually splintered into two different outfits: Audio Recording Club and Metro Sound Circuit, the band that would later evolve into June State Residential. The former was successful and able to play shows frequently despite a near-constant member rotation. The latter, though successful in their own right, was not able to play through the loss of several members. After only a few months, the band decided to take a hiatus to regroup. This regrouping, however, did not last; they lasted only a handful of months and never played a show.But the core of Metro Sound Circuit— guitarist (and one-time drummer for the band) Matt Roberts, synth player Ron Borer, and bassist Ryan Deifer — decided to keep trying to pull everything together. Armed with pluck, and a strong desire to play the music they wanted to play, the remaining members were able to recruit singer and guitarist Mark Viola after a persuasive run-in at a local Borders. The band’s current drummer (who took over after Roberts switched to guitar), Eric Wargo, was added recently after being friends with the band for several years.Now a collection of early twenty-somethings under a new name, June State Residential has taken on a different sound. Gone are the band’s boisterous pop roots; instead, the band now favors a much mellower, much quieter aesthetic — a sound aptly described on the band’s Myspace.com page as a “snow day.” Like a snow day, there’s something that’s delicate and pretty, but certainly not flimsy; there’s a sort of crisp crunch and bite in the underlayers. And unlike most, June State Residential manages to create a cohesive sound of its own: a sound that can be like a less synth-heavy Dirty on Purpose or a less experimental M83 but most often hits no other comparison but that of itself.It’s a change that the band greatly attributes to simply growing older since their last go-around. “We’ve gotten more mature” since the last time, Deifer said. “I mean, I live on my own now [unlike before]. I’m engaged.”And beyond the influence of maturity was the addition of Viola, whose unique and new songwriting perspective helped to create the current sound — even if it wasn’t accepted at first. “I’m stubborn,” Roberts said. “At first, I still wanted to do what we were doing [a synth pop sound]. But after a while, I gave in.”While the boys of June State Residential’s plans for the future are the typical aspirations of any restart-up band — aspirations like booking more shows in different areas and recording a full-length release — it’s what the band is truly looking forward to that sets them apart: “I’m looking forward to good times and good friends,” Wargo said.

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