The Scandinavian landscape is like a page out of a Brothers Grimm tale. Apparently, so is its music.
Junip, comprised of Swedes José Gonzalez, Elias Araya and Tobias Winterkorn, emerges with Fields after a four-year hiatus since its last effort, and the return is largely triumphant.
The album’s greatest asset is the continuous pulse that prevails from start to finish. Even in songs whose tempos ebb and flow slowly, the sense of rhythm and current the band establishes ties Fields in a neat, effortless bow.
This thread makes for an almost episodic listen — tracks blend into each other like individual chapters in a novel, and while there’s plenty of variance from one song to another, the whole remains cohesive. It’s easy to picture an icy, Swedish landscape behind the swelling, labyrinthine tunes.
The band’s at its best when its tranquil, zen-like songs veers into unexpected terrain. “It’s Alright” evokes a Beatles single from The White Album, entwining catchy, repetitive choruses with Junip’s signature winding arrangements and an unexpected sense of foreboding.
And while, initially, there are plenty of lush orchestrations and moody, folky vocals, the topography flattens toward the end of the record.
Where songs like “Rope & Summit” throb with a constant, hummingbird pace, later tracks, like “Tide,” meander aimlessly. It’s as if, somewhere along the trek through its fairytale landscape, the band got stuck in languid, melting snow.
But a few lackluster moments don’t diminish the entire odyssey. Fields takes the listener from wintry, out-of-body daydreams to catchy pop songs, and its common thread is a pulsing, relentless sense of vibrance.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
