Junip

Description

In our case, its never simple. José González is describing the entire process writing, recording, life that went into the creation of Junip, the upcoming, self-titled album from the band he fronts alongside drummer Elias Araya and keyboardist Tobias Winterkorn, due for release on 22 of April 2013 on City Slang. All the ups and downs were very Junip, he adds, so titling it with our name seemed appropriately iconic. Its truly a band album.

Just as with the first album, Junip was recorded in the trios rehearsal space over the course of a year, self-produced by the band with help from Don Alsterberg (sound guru to artists like Soundtrack of Our Lives, International Noise Conspiracy, and Graveyard). The song Villain proved to be a breakthrough for Junip, with a tribal garage-rock stomp, fuzzed-out analog bassline, and electro-pop synths contrasted by a spooky, subtly sinister vocal. According to González, Villain represents the sound of us not constraining ourselves. We werent concerned about noise, or being too distorted or musically correct. It was more about vibe, or feeling it didnt matter what we did, as long as it felt good.

Just as Fields pushed boundaries and expectations, Junip expands the stylistic palette yet again with unexpected juxtapositions. Were somewhere between a German jazz band and an African pop band, González cracks. As such, infectious album opener (and first single) Line of Fire layers Beatlesque melody on top of a hypnotic groove that splits the difference between flamenco syncopation and krautrock repetition, Gonzálezs heartfelt vocal cresting with emotion as the track builds towards a symphonic climax. Baton also introduces Gonzálezs infectious newfound whistling technique, where he creates hooks literally out of thin air. Ive been doing the whistle thing a lot, he says. I bought these expensive Neumann mics, and noticed if you whistle into them, they give off a slight distortion; theres something about the overtones and coloration hitting the root that gives it a Brazilian vibe. Its a nice way to find melodies you get the pure melody and nothing else. Your Call, meanwhile, proves a total departure a synthesized pop-disco confection suggesting the union of Hot Chip and Human League, its infectious drum-machine handclaps and exuberant singsong chorus belying a melancholy sentiment (Its your life, its your call/Stand up, or enjoy your fall). It felt like trying on new clothes when we first listened to it it took a while to get comfortable with it, but now I like it a lot, González says.

Suddenly is the albums exception, however. The intimate beauty of the music on Junip often contrasts with a surprisingly dark melancholia, commencing with the very first lines heard on the album. What would you do/If it all came back to you/Each crest of each wave/ bright as lightning/What would you say/If you had to leave today/Leave everything behind/Even though, for once, youre shining: so go the opening lyrics to Line of Fire, suggesting an existential crisis or journey that plays out over the course of the remaining nine songs. Its about growing up and taking responsibility in that moment when all of a sudden your life changes, youre in a new situation, González says. Your ideals are challenged, and you have to think things through from a new angle.

Theres a reflexive temptation to read that mood as influenced by events in Gonzálezs personal life. Theres a tendency to ask these questions when there may not be answers, González says. Thats, in fact, the theme to Beginnings, whereas Line of Fire is more about taking responsibility and doing what you can to change your life in a new situation. For González, the words arent meant to be specific, but meant to make you feel something, and create an emotion. Stuff I think about is more about human nature in general: songs are about love and death not necessarily relationships, really. Theres a high ambition to reach deep emotions, and I tend to write about these topics. For him, the key topic remains redemption those life-changing moments that shake people up, which unite all the themes. Its ultimately about how the grass will grow after snow melts away: finding that hopeful feeling between the lines, thats what the whole record is about.