It has been a good week. Maybe not the best week ever but certainly far from the worst and, as I put pen to paper on Juniper Three’s debut album “Spiral”, my hopes were for yet more sunshine. As the saying goes, ask and it shall be given to you.
I already had high hopes for this album as I have a well-known failing for harmonies and Juniper Three - Laura Hill, Outi Karhu and Aimee Penman – are indeed known to be purveyors of such things. “Spiral” fortunately proves to be full of songs that are certainly mellow but also eloquently and elegantly presented and feature some quite enchanting combinations of voice and musical intent. Such sustenance would be a more than satisfying snack for a musical carnivore like myself but there is more. It would be reasonable to expect lyrics that would verge on the fey or perhaps the mystical but their words, whilst often and unsurprisingly concerned with the sentiments borne of the heart, can also walk all the way down reality road with “Playing It Safe” and “Symphony” demonstrating that Juniper Three reach for more than merely massaging your ears and can also give you some perfectly presented food for thought.
I don’t know if there are such things as lullabies for adults but, if there were such a thing, “Spiral” would be an album where the fortunate would find them with Juniper Three adding sophisticated harmonies that get so close to being sublime that even the cynical might be led to believe that the world is a beautiful place after all.
Available from Bandcamp.
Best song: “Playing It Safe”
Verdict: Sophisticated songstresses