This eponymous release by Boston-based “post-wave” quartet Junius is not really a full-length record. It’s a combination of their previous two EPs; 2004’s Forcing Out The Silence and 2006’s Blood Is Bright. A lot of critics, as well their own label, has likened them to a new interpretation of The Cure. If Joseph Martinez’s vocals are any indication, this would seem like a flawless comparison.
Their live show is thunderous, and the album kneels down to it unfortunately, but Junius does display their potential. Junius incorporates song structures from the vein of modern post-rock, “weighing” towards the heavier side. If they had no vocals at all, they’d be compared to Explosions In The Sky or Pelican, and the boys really push these associations too. Wall-of-sound guitar textures underneath drone-metal reverb drums, but there are no real instrumental melodies happening inside, just these epic guitar echoes.
Martinez is definitely a talented lyricist and singer. His voice bends throughout the album as his dramatic yells often need to overpower the clashing duo of distorted guitars. But this overdrama practically defines the group’s existence, which might turn some heads away. Their album titles, Forcing Out The Silence for example, are kind of hackneyed by the world of pop punk. And their forthcoming album The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist, continues in this path. Although, interestingly, this album will be released along with an accompanying graphic novel by Martinez and illustrator Matt Gauck, which gives this dramatism a raison-d’être and perhaps some levity on the side.
Junius puts the two EPs in chronological order, so things do change as the band slightly tweaks their sound from year to year, in this case, track to track. The Blood Is Bright section is more enjoyable, less loud, and one step forward with about ten steps back towards the eighties. “In The Heart Of Titans” barely features any vocals, but seems plucked right out of The Cure’s catalogue and very influenced by Brit-rock in general. My advice is to stay tuned for their next album out soon.
