Over the course of three independently released EPs, junodream have earned airplay at Radio 1 and Radio X (John Kennedy, Felix White, Maz Tappuni) plus a BBC Introducing Hot List for their previous single ‘easy life’ alongside numerous tips from key new music champions. The quintet will add to their tally of 5 million streams as they kickstart what looks set to be the biggest year of their career so far by sharing the new single ‘Eden Burns’, which was premiered on BBC Radio 1 (Jack Saunders) earlier this week.
Having previously inspired comparisons with the likes of Radiohead, Blur and Coldplay, ‘Eden Burns’ demonstrates that their sound continues to evolve in unexpected directions. It stirs elements of angular post-punk energy, anxious rhythms and a cinematic scale hook into their already sprawling array of influences such as Alvvays, King Krule and Joy Division. Ed Vyvyan’s vocals are also utterly distinctive as he contrasts a stuttering staccato with full-voiced melody.
junodream wrote the song last year at the time of the Australian bushfires. The title refers to the “depressing irony” of seeing the coastal town of Eden ablaze.
They commented: “We’re a generation that’s grown up with climate change being a pretty central problem, and we’ve slowly watched it turn into a reality. We don’t want to be a band that criticises, because we’re guilty of the same inaction as everyone else. When push comes to shove, can we honestly say we’re doing enough? Or are we just self-flagellating on social media?”
The song evokes an atmosphere akin to being woken from a daydream by a night terror, and that unsettling mood is also captured in its accompanying video.
On first impressions, it appears to be a rush of confrontational imagery: an intense performance from Vyvyan and unconventional choreography from the band, all while doused in oily black paint. It soon becomes clear that the video is showing the story in reverse. The setting is a spaceship, but the band’s increasingly erratic behaviour indicates that they’re experiencing some kind of group hysteria which will eventually dictate their fate. Filming and playing the audio in reverse meant that the frontman had to learn how to lip-sync the song backwards.
Reflecting on the experience, junodream said: “We can’t say we imagined we’d be in a spaceship in Seven Sisters when we wrote the song, but we’re glad we did it. It was one of the weirdest days of our lives.”
The concept for the video was imagined by guitarist Dougal Gray and then brought to life by Slog Films. They added: “The idea of the video was to show a space captain’s demise as he loses control of his ship and crew… all in reverse. We wanted the camera to take an observational role, like the band are performing for us. It is this repetitive synthetic performance that leads the crew to mutiny. References were taken from Kraftwerk and obviously ‘2001’ but the real magic was made from Ed learning the whole bloody thing backwards.”
junodream are five friends who formed a band at school, but reunited after university. They spent an early year together in near isolation, which somehow foreshadowed what would follow in 2020. Their name is a mash-up of two musical influences: the Juno vintage synth and the Pink Floyd b-side ‘Julia Dream’.
Expect junodream to release more songs fuelled by endless news cycles, all-consuming social media and cynical nostalgia soon. They’re also scheduled to embark upon their first full headline tour in April. Previous live highlights have included two sold-out London dates, hitting the Radio X Winter Showcase curated by John Kennedy, supporting The Magic Gang, Mild Orange and Pip Blom, and playing festivals such as Live At Leeds and Neverworld.
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