Juned – Every Night For You

The first four songs are stunning masterpieces that should've made Juned (pronounced "Joon'd," skateboarder slang for learning something from being screwed over) a household name. I could spend hours writing about each song. They play out almost as a mini concept album. The barnstorming first song erupts with a Hendrix-goes-surfing riff which is quickly overlaid with urgent chords and finally a plaintive, jangly descending guitar line. Kind of like a mashup of Heart, Swervedriver and the Smiths, and arguably the best song of the decade. Too bad about the throwaway title. (The result of a Dinosaur Jr. + Kyuss + Juned fall '94 tour. Evidently a Juned gal dated a Dino guy, who appears on this album.) That the blissfully infectious "Hearts To Bleed" wasn't released as a single just boggles the mind. "Waiting For Prince" keeps the dreamy power-pop vibe going, but adds a forlorn urgency. The heart-stoppingly dramatic "Titanic" is eerie, dreamy and shimmery, with lyrics about "blue glass pieces of everything, pieces of you out of me." Check this song out if you like Sonic Youth's "Shadow Of A Doubt" or Slowdive's "Dagger." There are a few filler tracks, such as the humorously vindictive, pop-punk-y "Dig," but this band's filler was still intriguing. "Sisters Of The Red Sun" is a perfectly-executed psychedelic instrumental odyssey. "When It Stops" could've been a hit on country radio in an alternate Twin Peaks dimension. The last song is followed by a lengthy hidden track in which our heroes call various psychics and ask if they will be successful. Overall, 20 years after I bought it, this still easily my favorite album by an all-female group, and one of the most striking and essential of the '90s.
RIHL: Lush, MBV, Heart, Tamaryn