PAINT THE GROUND REVIEW on TERRASCOPE...

 THE JUNIPERS - PAINT THE GROUND

(LPs from Sugarbush Records)

Specialising in limited edition re-issues of hard to find psych/pop albums, Sugarbush records are doing a fine job if theses three releases are anything to go by, beautifully pressed with delightful artwork and a touch of quality about them.

    Originally released as a download in 2012, “Paint the Ground” is a wonderful collection of jangly, gently flowing pop psych that is ideal for those hazy summer days. Opening sweetly with the rippling melodies of “Look Into My River”, the band hook you in immediately, a mellow 1971 West-Coast vibe pervading the air as they get into their groove. On “Dandelion Man”, there is a more up to date guitar jangle, a slightly heavier edge although this is softened by gorgeous harmonies and a a dancing flute, summer is definitely here. Easily an early highlight. “Everywhere Was You” is another gentle tune with an almost Eastern motif running through it, the song ending far too soon, although the delightful softness of  “In My Reverie” make up for this the song re-defining mellow with ease, reminding me of The Lilac Time jamming with CSNY in their laconic approach. To end side one “Phoebus Filled The Town” maintains the delicate air, notes shimmering in a musical heat haze, taking back to 1967 and the summer of love, or at least your rose-tinted memories and wishes of the era.

   After a flawless side of music, I am pleased to say that side 2 is just as good with opener “Antler Season” glowing like a evening sun, a radiance of sound that sets the tone for the rest of the side. Reminding me of Gorky's “Golden Fields in Golden Sun” sounds just as it should, the flute adding a delicate beauty to the tune, whilst “Song to Selkie” has an upbeat approach that will get you grooving around the garden whilst smiling like a loon.

   Certain of their quality, the last three songs turn out to be the best, proving this is a band of quality and substance, the listener easily immersed in the flowing contemplative mood of “Willow and the Water Mill”, blissed out by the pastoral wonder of “They Lived Up In The Valley” and then energised and amused by the sweet pulse of the Beatle-esque “Pearly Home”, the song leaving you with a smile on your face.

  Damn this album is good, those in need of a warm summer sparkle need look no further.

BUY THE ALBUM HERE!

The Junipers - They Lived Up in the Valley

PAINT THE GROUND ALBUM REVIEW ON THE QUIETUS BLOG...

 On the stroke of British Summer Time, The Junipers dropped the vinyl version of their newest LP Paint The Ground, doling out instant vitamin D after the bleak midwinter. As is often the case with Leicester’s premier pop psyche outfit, they delivered just when it was needed, channelling the music of Curt Boettcher’s Sagittarius, and Macca at his most dreamy. Just like that, the flowers started to bloom.

While rock music is currently obsessing over the cocaine 70s and 80s, flitting between wanting to be Fleetwood Mac (hey Haim!) or Blind Faith (you okay Arctic Monkeys?), a mini psychedelic revival has been going on, unfreezing like a brook in spring.

While bands like Stealing Sheep and Gruff Rhys’ various solo projects get the attention, bands like The Junipers quietly plug away in their burrow, radiating pure sunshine and good vibes. As unfashionable as it is, this band are determined to apply their love of pop music to an uncynical, good vibration, with a whole load of craft and bespoke nursery melodies drifting through multi-layered, hooky 60s pop.

But don’t expect Beatle Boots, wild fuzz guitar or grand concepts.

Album opener ‘Look Into My River’ doesn’t so much herald its arrival, but rather, creeps into view before flourishing into achingly gorgeous low-lit mellotron goodness, making way for the more jangly freakbeat of ‘Dandelion Man’.

Elsewhere, the band go from scrapbook shedpop (think Alfie’s first Twisted Nerve EPs) with ‘Antler Season’, to the bounding fizz of ‘Song To Selkie’. It isn’t all sunshine and lollipops though – cut in the grooves is a woozy, unsettling element. ‘They Lived Up In The Valley’ is a glorious pop-folk song, which flickers with the hue of a Cold War public information film, which made Boards of Canada such a seductive proposition.

From the first album Cut Your Key, through the singles and EPs that led to Paint The Ground, the careful precision of The Junipers, and the unswerving dedication to the feeling of the 60s, rather than a tedious facsimile, has seen the band turn into one of the greatest bands to grace the underground. If you’re a fan of El Goodo, Kevin Ayers, Shack, Emitt Rhodes or Broadcast, you’ll fine tons to love.

The shallowest part of the stream may make the loudest noise, which means the sumptuous quiet groove of The Junipers can be easily missed – and that is the lousy state of indie music in 2014. The self-promoters and loudmouths, the manic pixie dream girls with their guitars and faux-awkwardness, the cosmic disco bullshitters and blokerock boors are all you can hear in the swill of popular rock, but in that moment when everyone has shouted themselves hoarse, a band like The Junipers appears, with their perfect little symphonies, melting the hearts and minds of anyone who stumbles across them.

If you like pop in the pure form, delicate as it is catchy, you need to let The Junipers in.

Buy Paint the Ground Here!

Read the Full Review Here!