Just over a month after the release of their debut album, fittingly titled ‘Pools of Colour’, junodream transformed Shoreditch’s Village Underground into a pool of dazzling space-rock, drenching the already impressive venue with their neo-psychedelic tones and glistening reverbs. The excitement of the crowd was palpable as they prepared to welcome the band back onto their home turf for one of the final dates of their UK and Ireland tour, with a sprawling queue of eager fans stretching down Holywell Lane before the doors opened at 7.30.

Drawn together by their shared love of bands like Spiritualized, AIR, Pink Floyd and Zero 7, the group have been school friends since the age of fourteen. Made up of Ed Vyvyan (lead vocals/keys), Tom Rea (guitar), Dougal Gray (guitar), Jake Gidley (drums) and Will Ryder (bass), junodream was born in 2018, developing their sound over hours spent in a shed at Vyvyan’s parents house. After their breakout track, To the Moon, the band released their first EP, Isn’t It Lovely (To Be Alone), in 2019 before Travel Guide in 2021. Fiercely DIY, they self-produced both mixtapes and are yet to be signed to a label, releasing their album and EPs independently. This has brought a deep sense of self-awareness to their work, with it being fully realised not just in sound, but as an entire experience. The artwork for Pools of Colour and its visualiser videos are sophisticated and hypnotic. Hazy washes of colour, indistinct shapes of faces and landscapes, as well as bodies of water make up their visual language. It is cinematic, zooming into the micro and otherwise insignificant, before panning out to vast open spaces and shapes. The world they create through these mediums is one of nostalgia, existentialism, but with a lighter thread of optimism running throughout.

Upon arrival, I was immediately taken with the venue, a gaping space in the heart of Shoreditch with church-like high ceilings and exposed brick walls. Tucked away next to the viaduct, the Village Underground was originally an old Victorian railway coalstore that fell into disrepair. Purchased in 2006 with the aim of building affordable studios for creatives struggling to get a foothold in London, the space has become a vibrant hub of underground culture, showcasing artists, parties and bands on the rise. Two recycled Jubilee tube carriages are perched upon its roof, forming the creative studios and offices that sit above the iconic slogan painted on its exterior: ‘Let’s adore and endure each other’. Supporting the band first was Kilu, an established artist in the ambient scene who has amassed over 2 million streams on his recent releases, despite only starting to make music in 2021. His eerie sound was lightened by a backdrop of birdsong, which played throughout his set. While giving us hints of boyish charm as he paused to express his disbelief at playing in front of such a large crowd, his piercingly beautiful songs were mature and exquisitely performed. He was followed by Talia Rae. Within the first few notes of her set, you could hear a pin drop in the audience. With breathtakingly rich and skillful vocals, she performed original heartbreak ballads ahead of the imminent release of her first single. While the songs felt at times unvaried in tone, she was transfixing in her expression. The highlight was her cover of Radiohead’s ‘No Surprises’, which united the audience in a wave of love for the iconic band that has so obviously inspired all three of the artist’s sounds. All groups of the audience’s varied demographic, which ranged from trendy East London teens to BBC 6 Music dads, joined in singing along.

junodream opened their set with ‘The Beach’, a warm introduction to the sonic world of their album. Hazy and mellow with ambient drone-like guitars, it felt as if we were indeed entering a dream. The audience, however, would not be sedated, belting along the subtly jubilant chorus of ‘Head up, head out, I wish I could take to the beach’, buzzing with the excitement of junodream’s entrance. The band’s energy was incredibly generous; they did not quite play it cool enough to mask their rather endearing delight at playing to a sold out 800-strong crowd in their home city. The night that was evidently a huge milestone for them, and they made us feel very much part of this schoolboy dream come true. Warming up as the set went on, lead vocalist Vyvyan transitioned effortlessly between softer guitar ballads like ‘Close Encounters’ to epic-sounding space rock anthems like ‘The Oranges’. While his delivery at times was a bit twee, he made up for it with the genuineness of his joy to be performing. Slickly working through their current discography, the crowd stayed with them every step of the way, chanting a chorus of ‘juno, juno, juno…’ during any pause available. Despite seemingly leaving it all on the floor in their performance of ‘The Oranges’, their exit was met with chants for an encore - and they did not disappoint, returning to play their more indie-rock 2019 track, ‘Nobody Wants You’. A euphoric crowd jumped and sang along before cheering them off stage to more ‘juno’ chants.

With an album based on the feeling of insignificance in the modern world, the band is bringing their distinctive sound to the growing resurgence of shoegaze, the 90s subgenre that is finding a new life in the world of TikTok trends and amongst teens craving music that encapsulates their own growing existentialism. junodream know exactly what they are doing and how they want to make us feel - or rather how they want to provide a space to explore feelings that have always been there. They ooze authenticity, making their snowballing success even more exciting to witness.

Author: Kitty Pilgrim-Morris

01/03/2024