The artist herself described her debut album as being, “a lot of songs shoved together,” which I think is more self-depricating than accurate, but if that were the case, her new one, sonder is definitely a recognisable sonic world in its own right.
Like all worlds, it is a place of contradictions and the unexpected, at least from time to time, but by and large, it is where the graceful and pop-aware dance deftly with the indie and the folk finesse. It is also an album with the perfect title, for if “to sonder” means to sit and people watch from afar, then this is indeed music which seems to come from a detached observation of the world, almost diary-like notes written from her own consumption, almost to the point that the listener might feel guilty for the intrusion.
“amiam” is the perfect example of this, a gentle barrage of questions aimed at herself put to swirling and deft sonics, a blend of drifting ambience and gently rising vocal presence. “covermybody” is musically understated, but perfectly frames her beautiful voice, and “makesmehappy” runs on complex, almost mathy guitars, ever present, never intrusive.
But it is always the elements of delicacy and understatement that define these songs, the continuity and consistency of this place of grace and grandure, the sonic identity that allows the right amount of space for her expressive and exquisite vocals to work their magic.
We often hear of the “difficult second album”; obviously, I don’t know how hard this album was for your friend juniper to make, but she makes it sound effortless and ethereal from start to finish.
