[rating=8.00]
Riding the coattails of lead-man Jose Gonzalez’s successful solo bout, Swedish indie-folk trio Junip first made their mark in 2010 with their genre-bending full-length debut Fields. Receiving critical acclaim, the album was a remarkably mature effort from a band that had only recently released its first EP. With a sound that Gonzalez readily describes as a hybrid between German jazz and African pop, Junip now returns with a self-titled sophomore album that picks up where the band left off, featuring ten tracks that strive to capture heavy emotion behind infectious riffs.
Junip carries on the minimalist dynamic first developed by the band in Fields, but features synth player Tobias Winterkorn much more prominently while exploring themes of loss, disillusionment and loneliness. Throughout the album, melancholy-laden lyrics work in tandem with Winterkorn’s swelling synth lines, drummer Elias Araya’s deceptively minimalist beats, and Gonzalez’s strangely haunting voice to imprint Junip’s weighty messages in both the minds and the hearts of the listener. One can practically feel the loss that Gonzalez experiences in album opener and first single “Line of Fire,” as he tells a cautionary tale over Winterkorn’s simple and unsettling synth line. The song gradually builds, finally reaching its crest at the end as Gonzalez demands repeatedly, “Step back from the line of fire.” Similarly, “Your Life Your Call,” without a doubt one of the most accessible tracks on Junip, features psychedelic synth and organ fills that rise and fall as Gonzalez urges a heartbroken friend to find the strength to persevere.
Undoubtedly, Junip’s mature and consistent sound is one of their greatest strengths as a band, and this trait shines throughout their new album. While every track on Junip possesses its own story, African-influenced beats help maintain a laid-back pace and the band is uniform in its use of folksy acoustic guitar and intriguing electronic riffs from song-to-song. Though the tracks “Villain” and “Walking Lightly” mark a clear transition in the album’s overall tone, Junip is easy to listen to in-full and manages to avoid becoming boring, in spite of several tracks approaching the six-minute mark. In fact, several of the album’s longer tracks are actually the most audibly interesting. Gonzalez’s voice is truly haunting on “Beginnings,” which takes a dark tone, and starts very quietly before exploding with a sound that completely envelops the listener.
Junip makes no effort to outdo or dramatically alter the sound they have developed since their first EP, but they have clearly focused on improving their overall balance in writing this album. Gonzalez’s vocals complement rather than dominate, and the band clearly works together to create a wonderfully complex and textured listening experience full of meaningful lyrics and emotions. In time, Junip could easily prove to be the band’s best effort yet.
