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JUNO: A Future Lived In Past Tense The mythological Juno was the goddess of light, but the Seattleite indie-rock Juno could be the god of the polar opposite: The band's sophomore effort, A Future Lived In Past Tense, is decidedly dark of tone and heavy with mood. Future opens with the morose organ hums and heavily reverbed drum cracks of "A Thousand Motors Pressed Upon The Heart," an instrumental that sets the record's pace from the get-go, as swirling, delayed guitars churn up a syrupy crescendo that gradually and mournfully relaxes. The rest of Future plots a strong mix of that dynamic shift; fuzzy, distorted rock sections ease into moody plinks, and the same graceful transitions rollercoast into each subsequent song. Juno seems very concerned with its dark atmosphere - even the sparse parts are so swathed in delay and reverb that every fraction of space is filled with moaning guitars or washing cymbals. The band seems to have found strong footing since its 1999 debut: Anyone who tied it to the emo-core train will be surprised by the mature Juno - other than the sometimes inclusion of Sunny Day Real Estate's Nate Mendel on bass, the band hasn't any emo to speak of. It's mixed equal parts of Jawbox's angular shifts, Mogwai's atmosphere, Red House Painters' droning and Tristeza's melodies, and the results are stunning. - Nicole Keiper |
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| Source: http://www.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?id=31126
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