Live Review: junodream - Village Underground, London 27/02/2024
Commemorating the release of their debut album ‘Pools of Colour’, junodream elevates London’s Village Underground with a sold-out show.
Following the release of ‘Pools of Colour’ in January, space-rock quartet junodream have been riding on a high throughout their UK/IE tour. Touching down in London with support from singer-songwriters Kilu and Talia Rae, they took a crowd of 700 attendees through each song on the 10-track record.
The evening began with Kilu, who brought a hauntingly ethereal atmosphere to the packed-out venue with dizzy synth textures, high vocal notes and birdsong which persisted throughout his performance. With sounds reminiscent of Bon Iver and Moses Sumney, Kilu brought an inspired for an aptly otherworldly start to the night. This was shortly followed by Talia Rae, whose powerful, soulful vocal belts were accompanied by piano for an all-around moving set which even included a cover of Radiohead’s ‘No Surprises’. It would suffice to say that by this point, the crowd was warmed up for junodream.
The audience welcomed the band with applause and sporadic chants of ‘juno!’ as flashing blue lights filled the room, which thrummed with ambient synth as junodream took the stage one by one. While they endeavoured to play ‘Pools of Colour’ in full, they left some room for surprise as the set was not arranged according to the order of the songs on the record, and they made space to include a few of their earlier singles. As such, they began with their first single ‘The Beach’, which brought a warm groove driven by a blend of twangy electric melodies and a rhythmic, low-coasting bassline. It was a good start to get attendees moving, to be picked up by the edgy pace of second single ‘Kitchen Sink Drama’.
Showing a moment of appreciation for their beginnings, frontman Ed Vyvyan introduced the band’s oldest song ‘To The Moon’ which, while minimal lyrically, offers depth in its instrumentation with drum machine patters complimented by thumping kicks and a stand-out winding electric riff. Capitalising on the energy of the audience as they clapped along, this was followed by the band’s newest song and title track ‘Pools of Colour’. Vyvyan noted that this was one of the first songs they’d played live, and it was easily one of the strongest songs performed for the night. “I step forward, you go backward, now I think in pools of colour,” held firm in its catchiness while the song boasted a big sound backed by sonic synth effects, the energy heightened by an impassioned Vyvyan and strobing lights.
Part of the allure of the performance also came with its visuals, in which the more harsh, industrial lighting of Village Underground was dimmed in hazy smoke, with light beams dancing among the stage for a true galactic effect.
Later in the set, Vyvyan took a moment to speak about the meaning behind ‘Pools of Colour’. “This is an album about insignificance,” he explained, “…trying to capture that idea in a bottle in different ways.” Ultimately the band gathered a wholly attentive audience who seemed to resonate closely as they pondered feelings of insignificance, questions of one’s place in the universe and the strangeness that comes with that side of the human experience.
Closer ‘The Oranges’ seemed to provide an electric resolution for the sense of existential angst in a loaded finale of droning electric guitar tones and echoes of “breathe, relax” repeated throughout the song. Inspired by a dream, the number’s lines “let your imagination take hold, you’re independent of time and space,” felt like an appropriate takeaway as it rang out with thunderous drums and blaring, near-psychedelic sound waves which brought the audience to a steady applause as junodream departed the stage.
In a swift turnaround, the band returned as attendees continued to cheer them on for an encore. “For half of you, it’s very clear that we’re not finished,” Vyvyan said as he took his position on the stage. “So, we’ll play one more, and we’ll play more. Thank you very much for coming, from the bottom of my heart. This is so weird.”
With that, they went into ‘Close Encounters’, another track taken from ‘Pools of Colour’ that was said to be about an alien and a drunk driver. For this one, Vyvyan invited attendees to bring out their phones and turn on the torches. Slowed down and emotive, the venue lit up with white light in response to Vyvyan’s request. Doing well to balance softer tracks with excitable moments, junodream then fired into ‘Nobody Wants You’ from their 2019 EP ‘Isn’t It Lovely (To Be Alone). A clear fan favourite, the flashy riffs and quick percussion got the crowd jumping as they shouted along with the chorus. After a blazing final song, junodream said their true farewell, completing one of the last shows of their tour.
Personable and passionate, junodream have rightly received an outpour of support following their debut, and based on their performance it seems that selling out venues could become a common practice for the group.
Words by Kayla Sandiford
Photography by Justyna Serafin
