Today In Swedish Goodness: Junip

By Michele Lenni in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 4, 2010 6:40PM

Let's face it, there is a lot to like about Sweden. Delicious Meatballs, lingonberries, lutefisk, great films like Let the Right One In and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, reasonable minimalist furniture from Ikea and lest we not forget, The Muppets' own culinary master himself: The Swedish Chef. That being said, we are also big fans of what those Swedes do musically.

Sweden's recent music history has been a complete hodge-podge of sonic textures and sounds, most of which have been staples on our turntable. Starting from 1970 through the early '90s much of their music was known for either seriously heavy Scandinavian death metal bands or its syrupy-sweet, power-pop from bands like Abba, Ace of Base, Robyn and The Cardigans. It seemed like once the mid '90s hit, Sweden became a hot bed of phenomenal indie rock with bands like The Hives, The Soundtrack of Our Lives and more recently The Sounds, The Knife, Jens Lekman, and, of course, slow-core folk fiend Jose Gonzalez.

Gonzalez's recent pet project, Junip, has wowed us even more than his solo work. Junip combines Gonzalez's rich vocals and mellow, yet tensely controlled melody lines, which are then beefed up considerably by delicately placed Moog and Fender Rhodes organ, electric guitar and punctuated by the deft drumming skills of Elias Araya. We've been fans of Junip since their 2005 EP, Black Refuge, and now his newest full-length effort, Fields, proves he is a musical force to be reckoned with. Field's best and brightest moments really remind us of one of our favorite indie folk bands to come out of the '90s: The American Analog Set.

Lucky for us Junip will be taking the stage this Saturday at our new favorite venue: Lincoln Hall. With the cool, crisp fall night predicted for Saturday we think experiencing Junip live and a glass of bourbon may be the perfect combo.

Junip performs Saturday, November 6, at Lincoln Hall, 2424 N Lincoln, 10 p.m., $15, 21+