Album Review: Junk Drawer – 'Ready for the House'

An album not worthy of the junk drawer.

Belfast quartet Junk Drawer have released their debut album Ready for the House. Channeling everything from garage and psych to slacker and kraut, Junk Drawer have produced an album that will immediately appeal to fans of Pavement and Oh Sees, and even Just Mustard fans (Junk Drawer borrowed their producer Chris Ryan for the album).

With only seven tracks, you’d be wrong to think Ready for the House was a half-album. It’s not. Each song is epic, lasting anywhere between four and eight minutes long. You’d also be mistaken for thinking this an album of mindless jamming. Far from it. Each song is like a vignette that tackles subjects ranging from mental health and eating disorders to substance abuse and epilepsy “against the backdrop of a country where the default mood is cynicism”. Ready for the House is a cohesive album, yet each individual song reflects a different a mood and story to the other.

All great albums begin with a brilliant opening track, and Ready for the House is no different. ‘What I’ve Learned/What I’m Learning’ begins slow and moody, but halfway through doubles in speed with frantic guitar solos. And that’s what really stands out on this song. Some of these licks are wild and untamed beasts, whilst others are some of the most melodic and powerful guitar lines you’ll ever hear.  ‘What I’ve Learned’ sets the tone for the rest of the album beautifully. ‘Year of the Sofa’ works on the slow and moody vibe, whilst previously released ‘Ego Death in Akron Ohio’ has an almost doom metal feel to it. ‘Mumble Days’ and ‘INFJ’ are great. ‘Temporary Day’ is good too. And so is ‘Pile’. Ah, just listen to the damn album already!

Words by Matthew Brocklehurst

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