Album Review: Junip - Junip

In 2006, Swedish musician José González and his pastoral folk sounds exploded onto the scene thanks to his astoundingly perfect cover of Heartbeats by fellow Swedes The Knife. Since then, as well as working on his own music, he plays with Junip to explore a more atmospheric and psychedelic sound.

Sadly, the pain of González' haunting vocals are somehow lost amongst the delicate gothic musings that make up Junip's sound. Opener Line Of Fire lulls you into the album with a false confidence, mimicking González' stripped-back acoustics and humming whispers, but the gear shifts dramatically on Your Life Your Call, a melancholic sing-song romp that loops around the irritatingly simplistic message, “It's your life/It's your call/Stand up or enjoy your fall”.

Sixties-styled psychedelic synths batter Villain, the only real successful merging of González' floating vocals and the fuzzy, brushed electronics of the band. Waking Lightly is a seminal return to González's pastoral folk roots, shaken up with Eastern-music percussion and strings, while Celtic influences patter through Head First.

The entire sound of the album is something of an easy listening masterpiece – which is kind of really an oxymoron of sorts. Why, with González's remarkable vocal talent, would you want to be considered anything other than moving, touching or heartbreaking? Then again, everyone needs to stretch their wings now and then.