If you are looking for a fun breezy pop record to wind down the summer, Juniper’s debut album just may do the trick.
A fun collection of tunes about roller coasters, teenage garage bands and boys (lots of songs about boys), the music touches on many different styles including punk, bubblegum, glam, surf, Latin and eighties pop.
Juniper is the fifteen year old daughter of singer/songwriter and WFMU-FM disc jockey Michael Shelley who wrote six of the songs on the record and co-wrote one with Juniper and one with Juniper and Bucky. In addition, there are a handful of cover tunes written by members of Teenage Fan Club, The Muffs and The Rubinoos.
The album is filled with an amazing group of guest musicians too including Marshall Crenshaw, Chris Geddes (Belle & Sebastian), April March, Chris Collingwood (Fountains Of Wayne), Mark Spencer (Son Volt), Steve Goulding (Mekons), Dennis Diken (Smithereens) Greg Towson (Los Straitjackets) and Ira Kaplan (Yo La Tengo) just to name a few. Michael Shelley plays guitar, bass and a variety of keyboards throughout the album.
Speaking of Michael Shelley, the production on the recording is incredible. As on his own albums, he takes the minimalist approach with just the right amount of guitars, keys and drums with touches of more “exotic” instrumentation (harp, congas, electric sitar) giving each song a unique mix but with plenty of room to breathe.
Juniper is a vocalist and song interpreter far beyond her years. She handles a wide variety of different styles with ease and subtlety. Think a younger Amy Rigby or Palmyra Delran. She also plays keys and flute on several cuts.
Track By Track
(It All Started On) The Dragon Coaster: Understated beach rocker....Love on a roller coaster...Think Beach Boys’ “Amusement Park, USA"...Only cooler.
Kids On My Corner: Nice pop-punk ditty... "Joe's Garage" for Generation Z...Best lyric, "The other kids in the cul-de-sac/ Wouldn't like The Beatles if they came back"...Co-written by Juniper.
Everybody's Got A Crush On Chad: Righteous T-Rex style basher... Chad sounds like every parents worse nightmare...James Dean meets Arthur Fonzarelli meets Draco Malfoy.
Best Kept Secret: A fine slice of eighties pop that would do The Go-Gos/Bangles proud...Co-written by Tommy Dunbar of Rubinoos fame....Believe it or not, that's Marshall Crenshaw on the guitar solo...One of my favorite tracks on the album.
Boys! Boys! Boys! Boys! Boys!: Guess what this one’s about?...First single off the album and deservedly so...Great power pop tune that attempts to answer the age old question: Why do teenage boys act like morons?...Answer: Something to do with the pre-frontal cortex, maybe...The keyboard break, played by Belle & Sebastian’s Chris Geddes, manages to reference The Beatles “Strawberry Fields” and Sweet’s “Fox On The Run”...Pure genius
Girls Just Want A Boy To Rest Their Head Upon: Nice co-write by Juniper and Michael...Pretty nostalgic ballad...Sounds like a lost Connie Francis song or a Grease outtake...Mercedes Bralo’s harp is a nice touch...When I say harp, I am not referring to a harmonica.
Poke You Eye Out: A Latin flavored tune co-written by Linda Marr and the late Kim Shattuck of Muffs fame...Flamenco guitar solo by Jose Luis Ushina
Gotta Draw The Line: Another album highlight...One of Juniper’s best vocal performances...Great back up singing from April March and Megan Reilly...Juniper plays the organ on this one too.
How Long She Gonna Stay In That Room: Fun song about another favorite teenage pastime; spending an inordinate amount of time in your room...Smashmouth inspired keyboard and wah-wah guitar by Michael Shelley who also wrote the tune.
Punk Rock Boy: Penned by Francis Macdonald of Teenage Fanclub...This song also may cause discomfort in parents of teenagers (see “Everybody’s Got A Crush On Chad”, above)...Chris Collingwood of Fountains Of Wayne chips in on backing vocals.
I Don’t Want To Dream About You: Another nice vocal turn from Juniper...She also adds flute and organ to this one...Perfect song to end the album...There is even a brief electric sitar solo by Keith Yaun. (Eat your heart out Denny Dias!)
For more information on Juniper, go to: https://linktr.ee/junipersongs
***I recorded an interview with Michael Shelley a year or so ago. You can check it out HERE
—Casey Redmond
August 14, 2020
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