JUNIP – ROPE & SUMMIT

Those familiar with the cooing indie-folk tones of Spanish wunderkind Jose Gonzales, may at first be surprised by what they hear in this side-project. It’s only an EP, relatively short at 4 songs – but the thematic ideas here take Gonzales’ rolling folk sounds-capes to a new level; a quietly pattering, psychedelic road trip. Nothing ever reaches above the 40 decibel limit; even in the rockiest number At The Doors, the ever-steady drums just truck along in their trippy loop, occasionally swelling here and there before quickly locking back into the motion of the music. The Huxley reference is not lost on the audience, particularly as Gonzales’ hypnotic voice weaves its way in and out of the psyched-out mantra, sitting around the one chord for a full 8 minutes. All 4 tracks are beautifully melodic in their own right, particularly the lullaby Loops. If you listen carefully you will hear delightful details from the intimate space in which it was all recorded. It’s a satisfying bag of songs, one that will resonate particularly well with the acid-trippers and the Cambridge-folk devotees.

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