Sweeping aside a somewhat superfluous 17 second intro, the first real dose we get of Leeds trio Juno rolls in sounding like Phinius Gage with a big fat Offspring chorus. Essentially ‘All Your Lies’ sums up the band in one fell swoop: skater-punk at a time when it’s not that cool to play skater-punk. I’ll be having some of that then.
This E.P. is chock full of those SoCal guitar riffs that flourished in the 90’s generating a scene in the truest sense of the word. Not afraid to wear its influences boldly upon its sleeve, ‘This Burning Fear’ adds a sense of Alkaline Trio to that particular inspiration, with some notable drumming leading the rest of the song by gripped throat.
Closing track ‘Save Our Souls’ pulls the shutters down on a solid nine minutes by hurling out the biggest chorus, most improved vocals and generally most rounded sound. It’s melodic punk-rock and it’s stirring. The band may have some way to go yet (the vocals could do with some suring up and a little more pace might benefit) but this demo has a quality about it that suggests there’s more to come from Juno. It also gives the impression that this is a band that will flourish in a live setting. All in all a solid debut offering.
Alex