Imaginary Friends by The Junipers

Buy Imaginary Friends Tshirts and Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/163667686

Imaginary Friends is our fourth album.

The Junipers are back with their new album "Imaginary Friends".
In 2022 a couple of Junipers recorded with Manchester based outfit Portable Radio on their album "Counting To Three", providing the rhythm section
recording at the Junipers studio in Leicester.
With that project finished in 2023, they found the lure of their instruments and recording gear, still set up too tempting to not record some more.

They decided to have a go at re-recording their first album "Cut Your Key" from scratch. This was due to the record label owning those recordings and the logistics of The Junipers being able to sell the original version on CD or vinyl themselves were difficult. A new re-recorded version would mean a long awaited vinyl release of that album.
That idea and those sessions petered out when a deal was struck with the record label, so they decided to play around with some new songs instead.

With no initial intention of recording a new album, by early 2024 some accidental momentum was building and the idea to make an album gathered speed.
A lot of care and love went into the recordings and "Imaginary Friends", the fourth Junipers album was born.
The first single released from the album "Annie Almond" was given "track of the week" on BBC Radio, they followed that up with a second single "She Looked Up At the Stars".
The album is due for digital and CD release on 5th Sept 2024. A vinyl release is due in October/November.

REVIEWS:

Popgruppen Blog:
"That’s right – the Junipers are back – and that is cause for celebration!

Even though it has been 8 years since their previous album, Imaginary Friends feels like a direct continuation. This makes a lot of sense as their music exists in a time slip wedged between reality and imagination, where songs like ‘Flight From Ashiya’ by Kaleidoscope and ‘Some Other Someday’ by the West Coast Consortium are forever playing on an old portable radio. The Junipers nailed the formula already from the get go with 2008 album Cut Your Key and have stuck to it ever since: sun-drenched, softly introspective psychedelic pop of the highest order, built on great melodies and tasteful arrangements.

And it seems we have that debut to thank for this new album, as members Joe Wiltshire and Robyn Gibson set out to re-record it in 2023, since they did not have ownership of the original and couldn’t reissue it. However, it seems a deal with the original record label was struck, a remixed digital deluxe edition was released and attention was instead turned to new material.

And judging from the sheer quality of every track on this album, a lot of material seems to have been piling up over the inactive years. So far three digital singles have been issued, but in all honesty, every track here is a winner.

While not (yet) a single, the album starts with the slightly dreamy yet catchy ‘Swarthy Smith’ that ends with a backwards organ organically leading into upbeat love song ‘You’re My Sugar and Spice’. Starting with the lyric “You’re my sugar and spice / you’re looking very nice / I will sing a song of love” it has a summery feel that just spreads warmth all over. At this point, one might fear that they have front loaded the album, but that is when the single cuts kick in. ‘She Looked Up At the Stars’ is built around a repeating organ figure firmly rooted in the late 60s and ends on a psychedelic swirl. It is followed by another irresistible single cut, ‘Annie Almond’ about a girl who “breaks hearts every time”. Sweet but never sugary.

In the years since previous album Red Bouquet Fair, Robyn Gibson has released a series of albums with covers of favourite tracks as Bob of the Pops, and some of that experience certainly has rubbed off here. There is an incredible attention to every little detail, the songs never overstay their welcome. And while there are some psychedelic effects and playful overdubs, they are used sparingly – such as the backwards voice leads on ‘While You Preside’, which, by the way, is the first track with guitar to the fore. A piano then drives the melody on ‘Mary in the Rain’, highlighting a sequencing that thoughtfully provides sonic variation. On the introspective ‘Monkey On My Back’ we get beautifully multitracked vocals and understated mellotron, whereas ‘I’ve Been In Your Shoes’ even edges towards doo wop but without a hint of pastiche.

With title track and single cut ‘My Imaginary Friend’ we are back on firm pop ground and ‘Red Song’ adds an autumnal touch before the album ends with the perfectly formed pop ditty ‘Hollow Sky’.

I have never before referenced every single track in a review of an album, which says something about the quality control here. For over half a century, bands have taken inspiration from the late 60s, but only few manage something more substantial than a homage. Now here is an album that is fully transparent with its many influences, yet manages to stand proudly with them."

Tracklist

1.	The Swarthy Smith	2:48

2.	You're My Sugar and Spice	3:10

3.	She Looked Up At the Stars	2:44

4.	Annie Almond	1:46

5.	While You Preside	2:55

6.	Mary In the Rain	3:51

7.	Monkey On My Back	2:39

8.	I've Been In Your Shoes	3:15

9.	My Imaginary Friend	3:17

10.	Red Song	2:51

11.	Hollow Sky	3:43

12.	My Imaginary Friend (Single)	3:17

Credits

released September 5, 2024

License