REVIEW and FEATURE in SHINDIG MAGAZINE...

As most readers of Shindig know, there are several current bands who have attempted to bring that classic 60s soft pop sound into the new millennium.. and failed. There's always something not quite right, whether it's the timbre of the vocals, the production values, the melodic structures, or a combination thereof. Well, The Junipers, have managed to perfect their wonderfully shimmering, Curt Boettcher-esque folk-pop sound without even consciously trying to emulate it. Says Juniper Joe Wiltshire, "it's the era that we all listen to most, so it just falls naturally together. Even when we're recording & adding effects, it's what we know so it's what we do. We've never stopped and said, 'that doesn't sound 60s or 70s enough'. We just play it & it sounds like it does." 

The Junipers in 2012

The band formed in Leicester around 2004, and recorded demos at home. "We started passing the recordings around town & got some good feedback so we started rehearsing as a band to take the songs out on the road", says Wiltshire. Several of these demos ultimately were re-recorded for their first full length album, Cut Your Key, which was released in 2008 and garnered several fine reviews. Shindig! Was so enamored of these recordings that we included "Gordie Can't Swim" on our hand-picked compilation, It's a Happening Volume One. 

Their wonderful new album, Paint the Ground, retains a similar ethos as Cut Your Key, while taking it to the next level. "During the recording of the new stuff we got well into Space Opera and a lot of the moodier 70s sounds like America & Danny Kirwan", explains Wiltshire, and tunes like Dandelion Man & In My Reverie certainly reflect this. The Junipers have decided to eschew the usual label route & release Paint the Ground themselves - the album is available HERE!

YELLOW PEGS on COBWEBS and STRANGE RADIO..

 Junipers side project Yellow Pegs was featured on the Cobwebs and Strange radio show. 

 LISTEN HERE!

THE JUNIPERS APPEAR IN BOOK "THE KNIGHTS OF FUZZ" by TIMOTHY GASSEN...

The Knights of Fuzz - The New Garage & Psychedelic Music Explosion by Timothy Gessen.

We are featured in a fantastic new 500 page reference book for neo psychedelic bands by Timothy Gessen called "The Knights of Fuzz". It is the definitive history of psychedelic and garage music since 1980. BUY THE BOOK HERE!

JUNIPERS SIDE PROJECT - YELLOW PEGS - ALBUM REVIEW...

 

Yellow Pegs - Yellow Pegs Album Review - Shindig! Magazine - Jan 2022

While everyone and everything is on hiatus, Joe Wiltshire of Leicester psychedelic poppers The Junipers has had time to create this short, home recorded album of largely acoustic, folky material on a four-track cassette recorder. 

Stripped of his main project's usual baroque pop production, tracks do begin and often end abruptly, in improvisatory fashion, but these aren't demos - nor is Wiltshire overly reliant on the wonky lo-fi aesthetic. For one thing, the sheer amount of instrumentation on here is a cut above the usual four-track fare - acoustic guitar, bass, drums, multi-tracked voice, mellotron, celeste, harmonium, piano, the list goes on. But all are used judiciously to produce an accomplished and charming enough set of songs, none of which overstays its welcome, or really even gets comfortable at all - the 16 tracks here take up just 27 minutes. It'll be interesting to see if any get fleshed out for the next Junipers album proper.

BUY YELLOW PEGS ALBUM HERE!!

PORTABLE RADIO "COUNTING TO THREE" feat JUNIPERS. ALBUM REVIEW...

 

Shindig! Magazine Review October 2023

As the first Autumn chill approaches, this second album from Manchester pop aggregation Portable Radio is a warm audio blanket to wrap yourself up in.

Brian Wilson and Paul McCartney are obvious reference points for these charming songs that range from the sugar rush of 'Song That You Know' to the subtler flavours of 'Past Downtown'.

While the most rewarding performances happen on lilting ballads like 'Not Today' and 'Muggy', the band may also have found a universal anthem in 'Where There is Love'.

Enhanced throughout by elaborate but not overly busy arrangements that include strings, brass and layered harmonies, this is near-perfect Pop.

BUY THE ALBUM HERE!

2 JUNIPERS JOIN PORTABLE RADIO on NEW ALBUM...

Junipers Robyn and Joe have joined Manchester outfit Portable Radio and play drums and bass respectively on the new album 'Counting to Three'. The album is out now. Buy it Here!

The new album follows Portable Radios eponymous self titled LP which garnered wonderful reviews, with Shindig magazine praising the “uplifting stellar pop songs” and Piccadilly Records saying “Superb!” and “wonderfully listenable.”
‘Counting To Three’ continues apace, adding more magic and every bit a love letter to ‘70s pop and rock.
There’s sharp pop and baroque and jangling guitars, and their trademark harmonies and gear-changes, but now, you’ll also find Philly orchestrations and Dexy’s brass too! Portable Radio took their time and produced the songs themselves to make for a real gem of an album.
You'll find 13 tracks of West Coast cool, melancholy ballads, bubblegum bangers, and echoes of Wings, 10cc, Lemon Twigs, Of Montreal, Weyes Blood, Nick Lowe, Carole King and more.

BUY THE ALBUM HERE!

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JUNIPERS SIDE PROJECT - YELLOW PEGS ALBUM...

The Junipers first recordings in 5 years recorded under the moniker Yellow Pegs. The album was recorded during The Junipers hiatus in 2020 and released 2021. Lots of gardening, sleeping and listening to 60's and 70's Folk and Pop Psych inspired some new songs and recordings. 

Got the old 4 track cassette recorder out and had a play around to make a bedroom pop collection of lo-fi analogue recordings. All recorded to cassette tape in mono. Simple, wobbly and fun to make. Inspired by the likes of Bill Fay, Mark Fry, Cliff Wade, Vashti Bunyan, Curt Boettcher, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Forest, Incredible String Band etc.

RED BOUQUET FAIR MAKES No 8 in SHINDIG MAGAZINE BEST OF 2016...

 Our album Red Bouquet Fair has made no 8 in Shindig! magazines best 10 albums of 2016. We're huge fans of Shindig and this means the absolute World to us. Thank you Shindig!

RED BOUQUET FAIR ALBUM REVIEW in SHINDIG MAGAZINE...

Attention to detail is a hallmark of Leicester's finest on their carefully crafted third album of dreamy pastoral folk and gentle soft-psych.

This is a beautifully understated record, with a deft Left Banke like  lightness of touch, a laidback Byrdsian swagger and a Curt Boettcher sense of wonder.

There are echoes too of modern day contemporaries such as The High Llamas, sandpit reverence on the Beach Boys indebted opening salvo of 'Red Bouquet Fair' and 'Follow Loretta', or a seasoned Teenage Fanclub on the shimmering, sumptuous sunshine pop of 'Esmeranda'.

However The Junipers really come into their own with an array of perfectly executed honey coated harmonies that blend pleasingly with meandering minor chords full of warmth.  They demonstrate a Brian Jones like sense of studio curiosity too, raiding a cupboard full of instrumentation to embellish an already rich canvas, skillfully deploying the likes of sitar, harpsichord, mellotron or ukulele whenever the mood dictates. Nigh on perfect! 
 

PAINT THE GROUND ALBUM REVIEW in SHINDIG MAGAZINE...

 

Where folk and country rock collide with pops soft mesh and shades of the psychedelic, this is where you'll find Paint the Grounds main aspects. Originally a 2012 download affair, this album is a thing of beauty with natural echoes of the modern pastoral in abundance; of meadows soaking up summer rays, of footfalls traipsing through the changing seasons, of shadows lengthening outside tabernacle homes.

Shimmering six and 12-strings and dreaming harmonies are joined occasionally by softly buzzing jaws harp, mellotron and zither, creating a panoply of bliss filled vistas that evoke such disparate, wide eyed spirits as 'Diamond Dew' era Gorky's, Peruvian McCartney worshipers We All Together and, somewhat quizzically, the languid haze of early Ride.

'Willow and the Water Mill', the panoramic glide of 'Antler Season' and joyously sparkling opener 'Look Into My River' are but a few of the goose bump-causing highlights on offer.

EUPHONIOUS TROLLEY EP REVIEW in SHINDIG MAGAZINE...

 

The Dukes of Stratosphear, Naz Nomad and the Nightmares, The Uncle Devil Show... Funny isn't it, that when bands behind a pseudonym  that they often make some of the best music of their career. And you can add to that list Euphonious Trolley, who are actually Leicesters long running psych-poppers The Junipers playing stuff that they have deemed "too poppy" for their proper albums.

The early 70's tinged powerpop on this four track EP (think Macca, 10CC, Beach Boys) sounds more focused, fun and melodic than anything they've recorded to date. 

For Paul McCartney fans, 'Oh Gilbert (I Need Help)' is the track to play first, though opener 'And In  My Dreams'. which sounds so good it could be an outtake from the first Orgone Box album, runs a close second. 

Maybe they should shelve their serious stuff for a while and focus on this - it's what they were clearly born to do. 

Ashley Norris

THE JUNIPERS - AN APOLOGY by ASHLEY NORRIS....

 I was more than little surprised when I got sent the band’s latest EP, the marvelously titled Euphonious Trolley, to review for a magazine and feel head over heels in love with it. While it is heading for pastiche territory – which is why perhaps the band chose to issue it kind of under pseudonym – the quality of the songs is incredible. And In My Dreams, which kicks off with a lovely Revolver style guitar burst sounds so good it could be an outtake from the first Orgone Box album, while Oh Gilbert, I Need Help, (I want to write a song like Jet) is as perkily tuneful as many of the songs it musically (and lyrically) references.

‘Maybe they should shelve their serious stuff for a while and focus on this – it is what they were clearly born to do,’ I wrote.

Except that after writing the review I went out and checked out their second album Paint The Ground and immediately felt like a bit of a chump. Originally issued as a download, though it has just come out on vinyl courtesy of the fine folks at Sugar Bush, Paint The Ground isn’t just The Junipers’ masterpiece, it is one of the best psych albums issued in this country in the last decade.

THE JUNIPERS ON TOUR with BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE 2025...

We were honored to be asked by The Brian Jones Town Massacre to support them playing live on their UK tour in 2025. We were contacted by Enrique 'Ricky' Maymi who put us in touch with Alan Mcgee of  Creation Records fame to organise the dates and specs. We were briefly on cloud nine when we were penciled in and confirmed to support TBJM on the UK leg of their tour in Feb 2025, but unfortunately due to some logistical and personal issues we can no longer play. We are very sorry about that because it was announced and advertised in some places. UK band Project Gemini will now be supporting TBJM on those dates and the shows will be fantastic.

THE JUNIPERS 2024 PLAYLIST on SPOTIFY...

 We made a Spotify playlist of some of our old favorites and things we've been listening to a lot the past couple of years while recording. You can listen free on Spotify

ALBUM REVIEW of CUT YOUR KEY in SHINDIG MAGAZINE..

 

Maybe a year and a half ago The Junipers stepped out of 1967 and affiliated themselves with the great stable of bands based around London's Redbricks Club Night. Unlike a lot of modern bands that tip their hat to late 60's psychedelia, The Junipers decided that songs and melodies were more important than getting the right haircuts and sitting around pretending they lived in Laurel Canyon.

On this, their debut album, the band have merged a melodic touch that really is second to none, with a refreshingly timeless production; taking inspiration from the golden era of recording, but never laboriously emulating.

It sounds like it could have been recorded on tape, but to be honest who cares when the songs are this great? 

Imagine Curt Boettcher and Brian Wilson double teaming McCartney's 'Ram' and you wouldn't be far off.

Nowhere near enough bands sound like prime Harry Nilsson nowadays.

GET CUT YOUR KEY HERE!!

CUT YOUR KEY ALBUM REVIEW by CHRIS ROBERTS in UNCUT MAGAZINE...

 

West Coast Pop from the East Midlands. A wash of sunshine-soaked  California sounds from, er, Leicester, this debut album was lost due to a computer failure a year ago and re-recorded from scratch by songwriter Joe Wiltshire and vocalist Marc Johnston. It acquires an accumulative effect of not-trying-to-hard charm. As the chord changes eke out nostalgia and optimism to equal degrees, highlights emerge - "Out My Pocket", "Song That Fades Away" - and Side Two of Abbey Road is happily evoked.

Buy Cut Your Key Here!

CUT YOUR KEY ALBUM REVIEW in THE WORD MAGAZINE...

 

Radio 4 have been running a series of programs this year re-evaluating 1968; I bet The Junipers haven't missed many. In the world of these Leicester cosmic pop sprites, The Notorious Byrd Brothers is forever spinning on the gramophone and the studes are in a state of perpetual forment. If only The Junipers themselves were similarly formented. The nearest they come to dreaded modernity is Sheena which draws its inspiration from noted envelope pushers The La's. Elsewhere, the likes of Gordie Can't Swim and Mortimer Snerd push fearlessly forth into a place where Maxwell's Silver Hammer still clangs away joyously.

 

ALBUM REVIEW OF "CUT YOUR KEY" in ROCK N REEL MAGAZINE...

 

In a parallel universe The Junipers were born on the West Coast of America in the late 1960s and not in present day Leicester. The outfit, which is essentially songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joe Wiltshire and vocalist Marc Johnston, nonetheless do a convincing job of re-creating the era with loving attention.

Debut album Cut Your Key is full of twelve string guitars, a random collection of antique instruments and plangent melodies.

The release's fifteen tracks are a lightly psychedelic cocktail of The Beatles 'Dear Prudence' by way of Big Star's 'Thirteen'.

The lovelorn vocals on 'Out My Pocket' and the blissed out pop of 'Sunnydown Ave' perfectly soundtrack a long Summer holiday filled with unrequited lust and lemonade floaters, while the title track 'Sheena' encapsulate a beach party hosted by Simon and Garfunkel and Brian Wilson.

In common with The Ruby Suns, this authentic sound is undercut by moments of humorous whimsy, such as ramshackle instrumental 'Little May Rose' and the self explanatory 'Wobbly Interlude'. It's such intervals that ensure Cut Your Key is peppered with quiet charm, despite it's unashamed nostalgia.

CUT YOUR KEY ALBUM REVIEW by BUCKETFULL OF BRAINS MAGAZINE...

 

Remember those early 70's TV commercials which were awash in technicolor, where flora and fauna gently undulated in the background? Well, Cut Your Key, the debut album by these Leicester lads, is the aural equivalent of that, as every song is bursting with kaleidoscopic goodness!

Mixing equal parts baroque, psychedelic, and sunshine pop sensibilities, but with a darker than usual undercurrent (moonshine pop?), songwriter Joe Wiltshire will tantalize your neurons on every turn,marrying a gentleness with a sort of of furtive power, not unlike The Fantastic Something on steroids.

Standout cuts include the Left Banke influenced 'Gordie Can't Swim', the delightful, fairytale like 'Callooh Callay!' and a couple of tunes 'Out My Pocket' and 'Song That Fades Away' which are very much the British equivalent of 60's pych pop legends Sagittarius and The Millennium. Add the down-hominess of 'Already Home' and 'So the Feeling Looms' and The Junipers have an album that will simultaneously give you chills and make you feel warm all over.

CUT YOUR KEY REVIEW on AMERICANA UK...

The Junipers "Cut Your Key" (San Remo Records, 2008

Leicester studio prodigies summon some cloud-dappled sunshine. Although now bolstered by a full band for a forthcoming live onslaught, Leicester’s The Junipers are a duo of home-studio geniuses with a tellingly impressive record collection and if there’s any justice, a rather bright future.

Included within the myriad of sounds they cram onto this concisely crafted album there are definite nods to pastoral folk (‘Fly the Yellow Flag’), country-edged pop (Already Home’), summery psychedelia, and knowingly retro (mainly 60s and Beatle-esque) pop aesthetics (‘Song That Fades Away’, ‘Gordie Can’t Swim’). Featuring a cornucopia of instruments throughout their many brief, sharp, pop journeys, the Junipers have a sound that is naturally textured, warm and mostly quite captivating.

The intriguing and genuinely sad opening song ‘Gordie Can’t Swim’ is a truly superb early highlight, sketching out the troubled life and untimely death of a friend, held up by a fine and simple melody which naturally weaves into lilting ghosts of harmony and a suitably uncertain, evocative end. Complimented by strings, echoes and a beautiful sense of space, it’s so completely perfect in its execution, the ‘repeat’ button on your CD player may well be needed numerous times at this point. Vocally and melodically, the Elliot Smith folk-inflections give proceedings a familiar air, and while its true that sometimes, as with much folk-inspired musings, the ‘twee-o-meter’ can reach an all too high scoring (‘Sheena’ being the prime offender), by cramming 15 tracks into a brief 36 minutes nothing on here truly outstays its welcome.‘Cut Your Key’ably displays two fervently fertile and inspired imaginations with a world of wonderful sound at their disposal. 

Date review added: Thursday, September 11, 2008

Reviewer: Ian Fildes

Reviewers Rating: 7/10

Buy Cut Your Key Here!!

Visit American UK

OLD INTERVIEW with ELIZABETH KLISIEWICZ

 

Leicester, UK group The Junipers might just be the best psych pop group you've never heard. In fact, if like me you're a sucker for exquisitely rendered orchestral pop with a soft psych, folk edge, you're bound to fall hard for their exquisite confections.

Going back to the start, main songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joe Wiltshire explains he set the group in motion in the usual fashion. Hearing music that inspired him, he remembers, "The Junipers started after I heard the first Emitt Rhodes album. Hearing that, I thought I'd go and get my own recording gear and make my own Emitt Rhodes album. I didn't have the confidence to do it all on myself and I had to get my mate Marc Johnston who lived down the road a few doors away who was into The Beatles and stuff to sing on it. He was the cocky confident one so that worked."

Like many such talented musicians, the band toiled away in relative obscurity, releasing three fine albums. The first dropped in 2008 Cut Your Key and two gorgeous records with singer Robyn Gibson followed. The first with Robyn was 2012's incandescent Paint the Ground, and the best of all, the other is quite possibly 2016's finest record, Red Bouquet Fair. Yet as far as critical acclaim back home goes, Wiltshire opines, "It's been received as well as we'd hoped it would for a small, independent , little-known band". Despite this wry response, eight years ago, the first Junipers album had received raves from from music critics and radio support from the BBC. When asked if they thought they were on the verge of breaking big Wiltshire avers, "When you're in a band and you start getting told you're going to be on the radio, you think, 'That's it, we've done it!' But then we came back down to Earth."

Still Red Bouquet Fair has done relatively well. Explains Gibson, "The albums are quite limited releases, so selling out, for Paint the Ground was pleasingly quick. Red Bouquet Fair has nearly all gone on vinyl too. We think Sugarbush Records are planning another coloured re-press already." And when asked about the long hiatus between their first two LP's, Gibson shrugs, "There's no rush. That's how long it takes us to get an album made. We record songs very gradually, but only in short two or three hour sessions, once or twice a week. I'd be happy to do it everyday, but we do all work and have families and so forth, so we just have to grab the time we can."

Such care taken is obvious when you hear classic tracks such as "Dandelion Man" with it's Love - meets - The Zombies melodic structure. When asked about the influences, the affable gents are all over the map, ranging from The Beach Boys to XTC and The Byrds. No matter the source, it's clear that they've been sipping from some prodigious creative springs, all to treat fans to a beautifully cultivated musical garden. It may take a while, but there will likely be more.

The Junipers - Dandelion Man

BIG TAKEOVER REVIEW OF RED BOUQUET FAIR...

 The Junipers - Red Bouquet Fair (digital-Bandcamp/vinyl-Sugarbush Records)

19 June 2016

by Elizabeth Klisiewicz

I’ve had a bit of time to let this beautiful psych inflected pop record settle around me like a fine gossamer haze. It’s easily one of the best records I’ve heard this year, or any year for that matter. Do the words enchanting, delightful, magical, and incandescent mean something to you when you think of music? If not, then one listen to this record will fill the bill for you. This Leicester UK five piece fronted by singer Robyn Gibson have created a 60s pastiche of elegant and timeless songs you won’t soon forget. Red Bouquet Fair contains all the hallmarks of the aforementioned styles, including indelible melodies and sweet harmonies. Listening again and again is like a kaleidoscopic merry-go-round, a sonic tapestry that will leave you whirling in glee as it spins infinitely.

The title track has sitar, banjo, and heavenly keyboards, and merits a longer tune. “Follow Loretta” has a firm grasp on The Beatles catalogue, from sterling harmony vocals to lovely, Abbey Road styled piano. “Dig Me Up” is another winning track, mining the same vein as Pugwash but adding layers of billowing psych to the mix. “Burning Pages” has a loping cadence, with frothy keyboards, delicate acoustic guitar, and really trippy vocals in spots. In short, it is exactly the sort of song that sucks me in and holds me captive. “Esmeranda” is bright and sunny, rather like the sort of late 60s West Coast folk rock I dig so much.

“Here Come The Winds” is heavily flecked with psych, right down to the sitar drones that run through it. And oh, the vocals, surely angels had a hand with this one. “Like a Merry Go Round” is equally beautiful, and fans of The Left Banke, The Byrds, and Emitt Rhodes will groove on this one. “The Fisherman” is light and delicate, ringing guitars curling perfectly around Robyn Gibson’s voice like fine smoke rings. The shimmering “Summer Queen” is gently reminiscent of any of the great British Invasion bands, and it mesmerizes and stuns with its beauty. “The Old Man Mini Suite” chimes and sparkles and the arrangement is superb. “Say Goodbye” is the perfect way to tie this one up, 2:59 minutes of watery, tripped out vocals and very Beatlesque. I only make these comparisons as the highest compliment, for many bands who trod this hallowed ground are derivative. But The Junipers are brilliant tunesmiths who need to be known by a lot more people. If you enjoy exquisitely crafted psych pop with a clear nod to the 60s, then you will adore this record.

RED BOUQUET FAIR ALBUM REVIEW on THE ACTIVE LISTENER BLOG..

 

The Junipers - Red Bouquet Fair

Reviewed by Nathan Ford

I'm now absolutely certain that Sugarbush Records' Markus Holler has managed to somehow implant a chip in me that relays to him exactly which albums I want him to release. His latest batch of releases are absolute perfection. There are four of them in total, but I'm just going to focus on my favourite of them today (more on the others soon).

The Junipers, for those who haven't been paying attention, are one of this decade's most important, unheralded guitar pop bands. Their previous album "Paint the Ground" is one of my favourites of the last few years. I'd previously thought of it as one of those rare, perfect pop records, but it can't quite have been as this new album is even better. While "Paint the Ground" had a lovely pastoral tinge, "Red Bouquet Fair" is much more of a classic pop album, with songs that reach back to the sixties for inspiration without sounding tied to that decade or overly reverential. It's obvious that these guys have fantastic record collections, but in no way do these songs sound like an attempt to replicate the music from those collections.

There are strong hooks on every single one of these songs, and these lads sure do know their way around a harmony; check out the lush vocal layering on "Summer Queen". Absolutely stunning. Elsewhere, they use period embellishments sparingly for maximum effect. Particularly effective is the 12 string guitar solo on "Like a Merry Go Round", while the sitar led "Her Come The Winds" is a marvelous psych-pop gem. And don't get me started on the amazing kaleidoscopic psychedelia of "Burning Pages".

And while classic harmony and psych-pop are the most obvious touchstones here, other influences rear their heads; "When the Bird Has Flown" is a lovely, moody choral harmony piece ala Midlake or the Fleet Foxes, while "Dig Me Up" brings to mind some of the brit-pop sounds of the mid nineties which have aged more gracefully than others.

Apart from the extremely solid songcraft, and those luscious harmonies, the main secret to "Red Bouquet Fair"s success is in the arrangements and production. It's all beautifully layered, with imaginative touches that create a distinctive sound for the band, while preventing any of the songs sounding samey. Or to put it in a simpler fashion, it's obvious that these songs are all the work of the same band, but each is a fresh creation which distinguishes itself from its predecessors.

It's the sort of album which should make you a little bit angry at the injustices of the world. Paradoxically, I'd also imagine that it's pretty much impossible to remain angry while listening to "Red Bouquet Fair".  This should by all rights be a major label release with constant airplay and household name status for the band, and had the Junipers been around to release this 50, 40 or even 20 years ago, that may well have been the case, but we don't currently live in a world where what the Junipers have to offer is in vogue with the masses. For us lucky few though, it's a comforting, magical experience. Absolutely wonderful.

BUY THE ALBUM HERE!

PAINT THE GROUND ALBUM REVIEW on SOUNDS GOOD LOOKS GOOD...

 

"Paint The Ground" by THE JUNIPERS – A Review Of The 2012 Album.

GET THE ALBUM HERE!

"…Let The Feeling Flow…" – Paint The Ground by THE JUNIPERS

Initially released in 2012 as a 10-track Download only – someone in Sugarbush Records thinks "Paint The Ground" deserves another shot at stardom – and I’d say when it comes to Leicester’s Folk-Rock act THE JUNIPERS - they'd be right. 

This is a gorgeous little album – chock full of pleasing melodies – and now it’s being reissued in April 2014 with a bonus track on the VINYL LP (“Everywhere Was You” – Track 3 on Side 1). It's a limited edition of 300 copies (with a different sleeve) on Sugarbush SB600.

Stylistically - think a folksy variant of The LA’s with just as many catchy tunes. A sort of English BIG STAR with perhaps a taste of MATTHEWS SOUTHERN COMFORT and even the country melodies of THE JAYHAWKS. The painted art of the front cover might make you think this is perhaps Retro Psych – it isn’t (although the swirling song structures ape that sound at times). The Junipers feel more New Folk than Psych - like a hybrid of all of the above but with the added stew of Sixties Pop like THE ASSOCIATION or even the jangle of THE BYRDS.

Beautifully produced by Gavin Monhagon (Kings Of Leon, The Editors and Ryan Adams) - the opener "Look Into My River" hooks you immediately with its guitars, flute and layered soft vocals - while “Dandelion Man” ups the happy pace to a point where you may feel an uncontrollable urge to place a dandelion in the Afro hair of a foreign student on the London Underground.

“Golden Fields In Golden Sun” is pretty but perhaps takes the hippy lyrics a step too far – but the superb “Antler Season” is a musical nugget that will surely grace a “Juno” type soundtrack any day now. “Phoebus Filled The Town” even has a Steve Hackett guitar vibe (lyrics from it title this review) - sounding not unlike “Horizons” on “Foxtrot" at times. Very tasty indeed…

On the lovely “They Lived Up In The Valley” The Junipers sing of “such a quiet family…kept things to themselves…”

Well when you succumb to this gorgeous album – like me - you won’t be keeping quiet about them or this…well done lads.

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

EUPHONIOUS TROLLEY EP REVIEW ON JANGLE POP HUB...

 

EP Review: The Junipers - The Junipers Euphonious Trolley EP 1 (2013) (Self-released)

On their previous full length releases, Paint The Ground (2012) and Red Bouquet Fair (2016) The Junipers have shown themselves to be the fine exponents of a heavy psychedelic, Byrdsian vibe that has become their signature sound. 

As such I was very surprised when I eventually purchased a copy of the 2016's 12 String High various artist compilation (released by the Spanish, You Are The Cosmos label) which included a Junipers track (And in my Dreams - see above) that undressed the usual psychedelic influences and just left the most naked pure jangle-pop sound. It was enchanting, but very unlike The Junipers usual style.


Digging about to find out where the track had come from the track I eventually established it was on a 2013 download only EP, advertised with a somewhat absurd cover art and with an equally ridiculous title.

Having downloaded the EP from Bandcamp it soon became obvious that the title was the only thing that was ridiculous about this release as it contains four of the most beautifully pure modern day slices of jangle-pop that has been produced by any genuinely contemporary band in the last 5 years, with the bizarrely named track Jenny Won't Ride the Roller Coaster (see below) heading 15 glorious minutes of aural pleasure.



So why the stylistic change for such a brief interlude? After much internet searching and digging about I eventually found a now defunct blog (last updated in December 2015) which contains an article on the source of this somewhat atypical release (click here for full article from the superb Bite it Deep blog that is actually written by Pete Gough who plays guitar for the band and used his blog as a vehicle to express his appreciation for lost 60's and 70's pop treasures).

Bizarrely this in an EP of 'discards'! These are the tracks that did not fit into their heavy psychedelic vibe as they were considered too 'poppy'. As such it was the intention of the band to release them on a series of EP's under the 'Ephonious Trolley' moniker.

Plainly this self released project may well have been shelved considering their has never been a follow up to this initial volume since 2013 and the original plans (as per the Bancamp profile of this release) to one day produce an album of these poppy discard EP's may now never happen...which is a massive shame as it undoubtedly would have been an essential addition to our collections.

BUY THE EP HERE!

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