CD Review Dave Liljengren

It's not only the meek who inherit the earth. Certain chunks of terrestrial real estate go to the survivors as well. Fortunately for Seattle emo veterans, Juno, they've been a little of both in their five year career. Surfacing in the Seattle scene in 1994-95, they were but one of a promising cadre of intense young bands upon whom the next-big-thing buzz was bestowed. While all the other up and comers of the mid '90s-- 3D S&M, Sybil Vane, Moonshine, Man Ray and New Sweet Breath, etc.-- have been swept into the dustbin of rock trivia history, Juno soldiers on.

Whether motivated by meekness or excesses of care, Juno was extraordinarily deliberate in the manner in which they released recordings. Prior to 1999, the band had only released two singles in four years. The wait was supremely worthwhile as their debut disc, This is the Way it Goes and Goes and Goes, (Pacifico/DeSoto) is a dynamically oscillating rock triumph. A chiming echolalia of six-string distortion rings out beneath the impassioned vocals of lead singer Arlie Carstens as the band runs the tempo gamut from slow, poetic balladeering to screaming, post-verbal, flame-throwing.

The genius of Juno is found in their ability to manipulate mood via both volume and speed. On a tune like, "Rodeo Programmers," roiling stacks of ebullient guitar sounds compete with furious drumming as the band's collective thermometer moves inexorably to the red zone. On "Leave Clean Camp and a Dead Fire," the build up is slow, even delicate, but the jet powered purgative ending is the same. On the expansively titled, "The Great Salt Lake/Into the Lavender Crevices of Evening the Otters Have Been Pushed," Carstens recites a spoken word monologue over a languorous backdrop of ringing guitars and twilight synths.

Juno, or at least, Carstens, earned beaucoup survivor cred earlier this year when he broke his neck in a snowboarding accident and lived to tell about it. While Carstens is still visibly slowed by the effects of the accident which some of his attending doctors did not think he could survive, Juno live shows this summer have nonetheless been a ball of ever-expanding fire. Check the out when they come to your town. Juno is your chance to explore new directions in loud transcendance.

Juno Pix:

Juno - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

Click Here for a review of Juno Live at the Breakroom 8/25/99.

*****

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