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Dec 21, 2010They may not yet have a strong enough aesthetic to make a great album, but they've made a unique, highly promising one that might soon create something which can bring Gonzalez's academics into the realm of something softer. In the way his best songs and covers were, and still could be.
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Oct 27, 2010Fields, the third release and first full-length album from the Swedish trio Junip, both meets and defies expectations.
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A record that doesn't deviate from what the listener might have already expected from an artist might not sound like an engaging one, but Fields most certainly is.
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Fleshed out with sinister synths and laid-back drums, the Swedish folkie's songs breathe and groove like never before.
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Earthy, enigmatic and possessed of a refreshing lightness of touch.
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That surprising lack of offensiveness, though, isn't replaced with anything to particularly excite, leaving it a tasteful aural curtain of an album without much of a view beyond.
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On the other hand, Fields' dearth of surprises makes it a little disappointing even for those with more conventional tastes -- listeners who generally value stuff like quality and consistency more than the shock of the new.
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This is an album to savour when autumn leaves are falling--and through the rest of the year, too.
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Accented by González's charming harmonies, close-mic'ed guitar work and Winterkorn's hazy, retro synths, the album is a headphones record that reveals new depth with every listen.
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Fields is intriguing in a low-key way that grows with repeated listening and will make Gonzalez fans into Junip fans.
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Gonzalez's classical guitar and weightless tenor float over soul jazz, Afrobeat, Ethiopian funk and krautrock, and the lyrics touch on spirituality and self-realization.
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This is a Junip record, but it's hard not to see Fields as another solid entry in Jose Gonzalez's discography, and a fitting next step in a lot of ways.
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Gonzalez rarely writes full, indelible songs, but he's great at building enticing fragments into lasting moments.
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Under The RadarEven with Gonzalez windy guitar strums taking a definitive backseat, Gonzalez purists will not be able to resist the charms of his friends in Junip. [Summer 2010, p.79]
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MojoIt's been worth the wait. [Oct 2010, p.103]
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Q MagazineFans of Gonzalez's intimate solo bedroom folk may be taken aback by the kaleidoscopic bells and whistles of Fields, but the rest of us should be thankful the sales of those two previous releases have given Gonzalez andd his mates the freedom to indulge every whim. [Oct 2010, p.109]
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UncutGonzalez's cooing voice tends to sing the same pentatonic scale over the same minor chords on every song, which does make things a little repetitive. [Oct 2010, p.98]