junodream’s debut album “captures the dynamic essence of the human condition”
Blending hope and despair, light and dark, junodream’s debut album ‘Pools of Colour’ captures the dynamic essence of the human condition.
Photo by Barney Curran
Released on 26th January, Pools of Colour ebbs and flows, expands and contracts, in a way that both disturbs and comforts the listener. Fans of Radiohead and Pink Floyd are sure to appreciate its dream-rock style and guitar mastery.
The opening track, Fever Dream, immediately immerses listeners in a hazy, textured dreamscape. Its lyrics are imbued with optimism, opening with ‘this is a new day’ and ending with ‘nothing can go wrong’, though hushed vocals from Ed Vyvyan hint at something more sinister to come. The mood certainly shifts in Death Drive, which is punctuated with spoken word pondering feelings of insignificance and craving validation.
Transitioning into The Beach, this yearning for escapism continues against the brooding backdrop of Llanrhystud Beach in Aberystwyth, Wales. Similar themes are echoed in Sit in the Park, which acknowledges an irrevocable distance between two people as the natural world caves in around them: ‘the trees are falling, the orbits filling in’.
junodream - consisting of Ed Vyvyan, Tom Rea, Dougal Gray and Jake Gidley - describes the record as ‘a bit spaced out and a bit uplifted’, inviting listeners to ‘jump, eyes-closed into the weird world [they’ve] created’ and ‘come out the other side feeling a bit different’. Following a string of singles and EPs since 2018, the album provides space for the band to be even more introspective and dive even deeper, forging stronger connections with listeners.
The spacey title track, Pools of Colour, plunges us further into the album’s rich soundscape. Inspired by Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip, and its backfiring when implanted in monkeys, Pools of Colour invites listeners to slow down and appreciate the beauty in the everyday - the pools of colour floating amidst the grey.
Close Encounters tells a melancholy tale of alien abduction with drifting vocals and wistful undertones, while Happiness Advantage comes to terms with loss in a more reassuring manner. Throughout the second half of the track, Vyvyan repeatedly sings ‘I’ll see you in your hideaway’, creating a sense of acceptance and lasting, transcendental intimacy. junodream continue to hone in on the human experience in Kitchen Sink Drama, exploring the heaviness of toxic relationships. Isolation and claustrophobia are conveyed through candid lyricism and panicky, pensive guitar strums.
Lullaby recalls sleepless nights amidst the incessant urban buzz of London, craving a moment of silence. However, the mood is swiftly lifted by the final track, The Oranges, where lingering guitar twangs envelop listeners in pure psychedelic bliss. Whispering repetition of ‘breathe’ and ‘relax’ is both uplifting and soothing, with lyrics praising the infinite escapism brought about by dreaming.
Pools of Colour feels polished and cohesive without losing the vulnerability and rawness that makes it so enticing. From looking up at ‘passing rockets’ to ‘looking down a sink’, junodream are sure to give you a new sense of perspective.