Debut Album "CUT YOUR KEY" Available Again on CD..

 Our debut album from 2008 is once again available to buy on CD only from our Bandcamp Page. It is the original CD set with booklet and when you buy from Bandcamp you will receive a pin badge and the digital version of the album which includes a load of bonus tracks.

We haven't been able to sell the album for about 10 years because the record label owned the rights to the music and artwork. Standard music industry stuff but the logistics of selling the CD ourselves or doing a vinyl press was too complicated for simple folk like us. We will always be grateful to the label for taking a chance on us and funding the album in the first place and we have now come to an agreement with the them so we can now sell the original CD and digital album again. BUY HERE!

We would love to fund a vinyl release of the album but will need to see if the funds can be raised.

"A delightful record" - Mark Radcliffe, BBC 6 Music

"As chord changes eke out nostalgia and optimism in equal degrees, Side Two of Abbey Road is happily evoked" - Uncut Magazine

The Junipers make an absolutely beautiful sound" - Janice Long, BBC Radio 2

"They have a great sound going on, excellent stuff" - Marc Riley, BBC 6 Music

"Imagine Curt Boettcher and Brian Wilson double teaming McCartney's Ram. Nowhere near enough bands sound like prime Harry Nilsson nowadays" - Shindig! Magazine

"Like McCartney's bouncing pop ditties. Radio-friendly, lovable pop with it's hair in the stars" - Record Collector Magazine

"I love it, it makes me cry with nostalgia" - Mark Wirtz, Abbey Road producer


The Junipers debut album Cut Your Key was recorded with the bands first line up in 2007 after signing with San Remo Records.

The album was started when record label San Remo took a chance and signed the band for an album deal. The band and label searched for recording studios and producers for the right fit. John Leckie was even approached and Abbey Road was also discussed. After trialing a few places the band were not entirely happy with the results and felt that the feel of their original demos was missing. Eventually the band decided to record the album themselves at their own studio in Leicester with the drums being recorded between there and with Gavin Monaghan at Magic Garden studios in Wolverhamton, who'd produced a NO 1 hit record and known for his work with Broadcast, Robert Plant and Ocean Colour Scene. With the album almost complete a computer fault lead to the album being lost, being rookies the band had failed to back anything up. The band pulled themselves together and treated the first attempt as a practice run and re-recorded the album from scratch and captured it far better than the lost version. A blessing in disguise. 

Cut your Key received praise on radio from the likes of Mark Radcliffe, Janice Long, Marc Riley, Tom Robinson and Whispering Bob Harris. Tracks from the album appeared on magazine cover compilation CD's for Uncut Magazine, Word magazine, and Shindig! magazine. A track also appeared on iTunes "Hotly Tipped for 2009" compilation (how wrong they were LOL!). The single "Callooh Callay", taken from the album earned The Junipers "Single of the Week" on BBC Radio 2.

The digital Bandcamp exclusive version of the album includes brand new mixes and remasters. Also a few bonus items including the full original inlay and liner notes, outtakes, full instrumental version of the album, and the surviving tracks from the abandoned 2006 album for Manchester label Gardensticks.

NEW JUNIPERS Single “MY IMAGINARY FRIEND” Out Now

Our latest single from our upcoming album "Imaginary Friends" is the title track of sorts "My Imaginary Friend". Its available to buy on our Bandcamp page (all proceeds help towards the vinyl pressing). OUR BANDCAMP PAGE!

The single is also available on Spotify, Apple Music etc. We also have a little lyric video on our Youtube Channel

Not really a single release. More of a last little promo teaser before the album comes out next month. Another song we've had for a while in demo form. We started recording it properly it as a band in 2017 but never finished it or released it, apart from a brief appearance in 2023 as a bonus track on our 3rd album "Red Bouquet Fair". It's now finished and will be included on our new album "Imaginary Friends". It was the first song we had for the album and inspired the idea for the albums theme and title. We liked the idea of someone who really wants a dog but can't have one because the rest of the family don't want one, so they have an imaginary dog instead that they take out for walks and roll around in fields with, pick up its imaginary shit etc.

Pre order the album "Imaginary Friends" HERE!

DO YOU FOLLOW US ON BANDCAMP YET?

 Getting followers on our Bandcamp page really helps cos Bandcamp automatically make recommendations to your followers and help spread the word which in turn can lead to selling a few bits of merch, which helps pay for new merch and music. 

MySpace used to be a great place to discover new music and bands but since that died a death Bandcamp has become the place for artists to get noticed and make a bit of money back.

 FOLLOW US ON BANDCAMP

REVIEW FOR OUR SINGLE "ANNIE ALMOND" IN POPCORPS..

 Read the full article on Pop Corps HERE!

You may not know this, but thankfully we’re on hand to let you in on the secret – The Junipers are the greatest band in the entire world. Melding heady psychedelia, bubblegum pop and baroque rock, there’s no-one quite like them. Impossibly catchy, superbly crafted and two tonnes of fun, they’ve been hibernating for a while after a run of wondrous LPs.

Honcho Joe Wiltshire released a DIY folk-psych shed-pop masterpiece under ‘The Yellow Pegs’ and singer Robyn Gibson has been keeping himself busy with his magic Bob of the Pops releases and manning the drumstool in Portable Radio. They are once again reunited under the Junipers umbrella and all is right in the world again.

The have a new single out tomorrow called ‘Annie Almond’ (that’s July 11th if you’re reading this away from the day of publishing) and it will be available exclusively on their Bandcamp. Better news is that there’s going to be an album too at the end of August called ‘Imaginary Friends’ and we’re super excited to hear it. It’ll be available from Music | The Junipers (bandcamp.com)

The single is just as brilliant as you’d expect, filled with honey-dipped melodies and Pepperland instrumentation. Any worry that they were going to take a sharp left and begin a new drum ‘n’ bass direction is not founded. It’s beautiful, hopeful and catchy-as-hell.

JUNIPERS "ANNIE ALMOND" VIDEO PREMIERE ON SHINDIG! MAGAZINE...

The video for our new single "Annie Almond" was premiered on the Shindig! Magazine website recently. You can still read about it and watch HERE!

Shindig! Magazine wrote:

"Ahead of Leicester’s, finest band in modern times, THE JUNIPERS’ first album in eight years, Imaginary Friends, comes the new single ‘Annie Almond’.

The band say: “We’ve not done much as The Junipers for a while and it’s always nice when you realise you have enough songs to make a new album. We’ve worked on other projects like Yellow Pegs and some of us have played with Portable Radio, but no Junipers for a while now. ‘Annie Almond’ is our first single from the new album. It’s a little tune about peoples’ ideas about other peoples’ perfection. We will be releasing a second single soon and then the album, Imaginary Friends will be out by the end of August. ”

NEW JUNIPERS PIN BADGES...

 We have some brand new pin badges. A set of 3 with artwork from our new album "Imaginary Friends". Also a "Red Bouquet Fair" album cover badge. All available The Junipers Bandcamp page HERE or by emailing us at thejunipersband@gmail.com

NEW ALBUM "IMAGINARY FRIENDS" PRE ORDER NOW...

 

Our new album is available for Pre order NOW! Pre orders will help us pay for the pressing of the vinyl and get it out sooner. Email us to pre-order at thejunipersband@gmail.com or from The Junipers Bandcamp page: PRE ORDER HERE!

Imaginary Friends is our fourth album. Currently only available as digital and physical CD. Vinyl coming very soon, October/November so please do pre-order. Still waiting on pressing. Sorry!

The Junipers are back with their new album "Imaginary Friends".
In 2022 a couple of Junipers recorded with Manchester based outfit Portable Radio on their album "Counting To Three", providing the rhythm section
recording at the Junipers studio in Leicester.
With that project finished in 2023, they found the lure of their instruments and recording gear, still set up too tempting to not record some more.

They decided to have a go at re-recording their first album "Cut Your Key" from scratch. This was due to the record label owning those recordings and The Junipers not being able to release the original version on vinyl or sell it themselves. A new re-recorded version would mean a long awaited vinyl release of that album.
That idea and those sessions petered out when a deal was struck with the record label, so decided to play around with some new songs instead.

With no initial intention of recording a new album, by early 2024 some accidental momentum was building and the idea to make an album gathered speed.
A lot of care and love went into the recordings and "Imaginary Friends", the fourth Junipers album was born.
The first single released from the album "Annie Almond" was given "track of the week" on BBC Radio, they followed that up with a second single "She Looked Up At the Stars".
The album is due for digital and CD release on 5th Sept 2024. A vinyl release is due in October/November. 

Track Listing:

• 1The Swarthy Smith
• 2You're My Sugar and Spice
• 3She Looked Up at the Stars
• 4Annie Almond
• 5While You Preside
• 6Mary in the Rain
• 7Monkey on My Back
• 8I've Been in Your Shoes
• 9My Imaginary Friend
• 10Red Song
• 11Hollow Sky

LATEST SINGLE "SHE LOOKED UP AT THE STARS" OUT NOW...

 The second single taken from our upcoming album "Imaginary Friends" is out now on our Bandcamp page: BUY HERE!

We've had "She Looked Up At the Stars" knocking around in demo form for a while and played it live a few times but never got round to recording it properly until this year.

Our new album will be out on 5th Sept 2024 and is available for Pre order by messaging us at thejunipersband@gmail.com or from our Bandcamp page: NEW ALBUM PRE ORDER