Juniper Moon - El Resto de Mi Vida

JUNIPER MOON is a very young five piece from Ponferrada (Spain) formed by Sandra (guitar and vocals), Raquel (keyboards and vocals), Dado (guitar), Jaime (bass) and Iván (drums).

The band is formed in 1997. After opening for many American punk-rock bands such as THE QUEERS, BOSTWANAS or CHARIOT (ex-POSIES), JUNIPER MOON’s first single “¿Volverás?” appears in 1999. Five songs that perfectly define the band’s main features: hyper fast punk pop based in the contrast of distorted guitars and Sandra’s sweet vocals. Other strong points are the lyrics in Spanish, very teenagey and fresh, plus the catchiness of some of their tunes: “¿Volverás?” stuck into the heads of many pop lovers around the world. Yes, not only in Spain: it was positively reviewed in Uk’s “New Musical Express” and was heavy airplayed in prestigious Steve Lamacq radio show in BBC Radio 1. A real achievement as very little Spanish music is played in this show.

In December 99 they open for SUPER FURRY ANIMALS en León, Spain. With  only a single they play two of the most important Spanish summer festivals: Benicassim and Contempopranea (Badajoz). Two months later their a second single is out: “Basado en hechos reales” reveals new features of the band, like its ability to write lighter pop numbers like “Me siento mejor”.

Most of 2001 is invested in writing new songs. Still they find time to play some gigs, the  most special one is the official presentation of Playstation’s GT3 game in Madrid’s Palacio de Congresos. They also include a song in the soundtrack of short film “Germán el grajo”. The expectation for the band keeps on growing; the band takes part in a tribute album to BUM released by Canadian label Magic Teeth Records, with contributions from bands all over the world.

Here is JUNIPER MOON’s debut album at last. It’s an impressive collection of songs which are quite up to the expectations of fans and media, and that will most likely make them win thousands of new champions, as it’s a suprisingly fresh debut album.

The band blends punk and pop in a very original and personal way, so the band can appeal to GREEN DAY fans, or followers of “new rock” icons such as THE STROKES, THE VINES or WHITE STRIPES. The band’s musical tastes runs the gamut from MC5, SHOP ASSISTANTS, FASTBACKS, TALULAH GOSH or UNDERTONES. THE RAMONES is another obvious point of reference.

The recording of “El resto de mi vida” took place in Refugio Antiaéreo Studios in Granada, Spain, between March and August 2002. The producer Carlos Hernández -who had previously worked with the likes of PLANETAS, CECILIA ANN, VACACIONES or MERCROMINA- manages to preserve the freshness and inmediacy of the band’s sound, and having a right ballance between the harshness of the guitars and the sweetness, completely natural, of Sandra’s voice. The vocal arrangements have been improved notoriously since the latest recordings, and everything sounds crystal clear but energetic.

The album shows again the band’s versatility that enables them to write soft pop numbers like “Enfermedad”, “Rutina” or “El resto de mi vida”, with real punk-pop explosions like “A veces sí, a veces no”, “Madrid” (originally released in Elefant’s “Verano del 99” compilation) or “Quiero verte una vez más”, the latter featured by a highly infectious guitar/keyboard riff.
 

The album includes new, highly improved recordings of previous hits like “¿Volverás?” and “Me siento mejor”. Anyway these songs are almost eclipsed by the new material, as it’s highly complicated to play the album randomly without bumping into a superb catchy tune. Fourteen tracks on CD, fifteen on a limited LP version. This extra track  “El último tiro” pays homange to vinyl records in its lyrics.

A very endearing element is the lyrics, written in a very spontaneous and shameless way; main subjects are sex (“Quiero verte una vez más”), drugs (“Rutina”),  moving to a bigger city (“Maldita ciudad”) or anything related to the mind of a confused teenager. But, and this is quite unusual, teenage lyrics are written by real teenagers and not by thirty-somethings eager to revive their wildest days.

JUNIPER MOON manage to sound personal without being experimental or affected. They  create their very own language just by being true to themselves. “El resto de mi vida” (“The rest of my life”) is the perfect soundtrack for all the ones that all the onew under 16. And for all the ones that would like to!!!!