It’s been a difficult week for New Zealand music (and the bad news just keeps on coming), so “Skyscrapers”, the thrilling new single by U-No Juno, has arrived in the nick of time. The future is bright. Everything is going to be alright.
The Ōtepoti Dunedin trio of Stefan Keller (guitar, vocals), Ramona Mahutte (bass, vocals), and Jack Ingram (drums) keep proving that I was right to recently assert that they are “one of the best new bands in the country.”
“Sksycrapers” might be their best release to date, a supremely confident and taut jab of noise-rock — or “post-post-post-post-post-post-post hardcore,” as U-No Juno describe their own sound — that is all killer, no filler.
Keller’s furious vocals often take the lead in U-No Juno songs, but his voice blends well here with Mahutte’s more melancholic tone. “It’s not that hard to catch the sun / When it’s falling on your head,” they somberly sing together around the midway point.
The trio, quickly increasing in power as a musical unit, sound razor-sharp on “Skyscrapers”, with Ingram’s relentless energy on the drums providing such a solid foundation.
Listen to the song, which was produced and engineered by Sivle Talk’s Tane Cotton and mixed by Sam Charlesworth, below.
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“Skyscrapers” is the first taste of U-No Juno’s new EP you know, which is no ordinary record: it’s part of 4EPS, the debut release from DUN Records that unites four of Dunedin’s best bands: Sivle Talk, Sogg, Vagina Dry and, of course, U-No Juno.
4EPS, out in July, follows the wonderful example of Flying Nun’s Dunedin Double EP, which introduced wider Aotearoa to The Chills, Sneaky Feelings, The Stones, and The Verlaines in 1982.
Just like that legendary release, 4EPS is essentially four individual releases packaged together, with each band given one side each. There’s Sivle Talk’s CRYBABY, Sogg’s Freezer Thaw, U-No Juno’s you know, and a self-titled EP by Vagina Dry.
Befitting the city they hail from, all four bands recorded in true DIY fashion, with Sogg requiring an official week off from high school to record at Southlink Studios, a community space led by engineer/producer Nick Roughan.
The four bands are going to celebrate the release with a run of shows around the best half of Aotearoa, the South Island, kicking off with a special double header in their hometown across July 3rd-4th (see full dates here).
U-No Juno’s “Skyscrapers” is out now. 4EPS is out July 3rd via DUN Records (pre-order here).
