Sparse and melancholic slow burner from Aussie lo-fi outfit.
Juno Point have emerged from the Australian indie scene, a quartet of musicians with a wealth of experience behind them coming together to deliver an album that is sparse and melancholic in nature. By the time that the five-minute opener ‘Nazare’ has drawn to a close, the tone for the album as a whole has been well and truly set. With slow, intricate guitars and unhurried vocals, the track meanders into consciousness. Occasional bursts of energy suggest a transition into something altogether more upbeat and rousing but without ever losing the essence of the track which has slowcore at its heart.
An online search for those of us unfamiliar with the term suggests slowcore is ‘a subgenre of indie/alternative rock characterised by slow tempos, minimalist and atmospheric instrumentation and subdued and emotional lyrical performance.’ And, that, in a nutshell, sums up ‘Lost Along A River’ perfectly. The pace never really veers from the pedestrian but what the band do, they do well. It is a moody piece, a late, end-of-the-evening collection of tracks that is atmospheric and dreamy in feel and tone. The flipside of that however is a lack of variation that makes it hard for any track to really stick its head above the parapet and shout “Hey, look at me!”
The closest any song comes to claiming that honour is perhaps ‘A Little Rain’. The song is a reference to the catastrophic floods that have hit Lismore, a town in their native New South Wales. The subtle female harmony of Lou Peake and Jay Kong’s moving violin seems a perfect accompaniment to such a human tragedy. Peake appears again on ‘Until I Am Home Again’ which, at almost eight minutes, is melodic bass, haunting organ and occasional bursts of guitar refrains. It is another track that threatens to morph into something bigger and bolder but then, thinks better of it and settles back into that warm and comfy late-night sofa mode.
The attraction of Juno Point’s ‘Lost Along A River’, the way the songs drift and meander in and out of your consciousness and lower the pulse rate, the subtle and exquisite musicianship and its whole slowcore vibe have its one-paced and downbeat feel as its counterpoint. Accept the record for what it is then, get the mood right and there is much to enjoy here.
