Juni Habel – All Ears
Koke Plate – 6 November 2020
It’s not often you listen to a voice and just know it is one that everybody needs to hear, such is the case with Juni Habel on All Ears. Her voice and songs harken back to an earlier era, one where you only needed a guitar and a song. Habel’s songs don’t reveal her Norwegian roots, just a woman who knows how to write, play and sing.
Being able to captivate listeners is not an easy task, yet Habel is able to do it with a minimum of instrumentation. With just a fingerpicked guitar, she is able to create something captivating on Surrendering. She notes, “Surrendering is a song about creativity and the joy and fear of making things”; strings only add to the impact of the song.
The following song, Run Dry also features string and drums, but the strings buzz almost like a fly that refuses to leave you alone. Yet instead of causing irritation, it attracts the listener. The song is something of a heart to heart conversation in a situation she doesn’t know how to handle, “But each time I tried I wouldn’t know what to say/ And I didn’t notice you just look the other way.” The conversation is two-sided with the response at one point being, “Used to hide an eagerness to press on/ Thought I’d come back one day, but now it’s gone.” Habel notes, “Run Dry is wanting to just settle down, stop engaging and accept things as they are – and oppositely, the relentless push to search for something better.”
Most of the album was recorded at home on Garageband. While the album is clearly in the folk tradition, she notes, “I really do love, and take inspiration from, a lot of different music; world, trip-hop, pop and indie stuff.” The entire album was recorded with the input of just six artists, including Junie, her brother, husband and uncle. Keeping things small allows her to focus more closely on the music.
Listening to the voices in her head, Demons is a song that reveals much that most artists would prefer to keep hidden. Even more appealing, Demon’s (Reprise) is a string-driven follow-up that wordlessly sheds more light on the terror. The gentle opening of Eyes Shake belies a completely different, lyrical component. “When we fight, I feel your eyes shake/ I know every word and every move you make.” Slide guitar gives the song a country feel, yet it seems to defy any particular genre, especially when the strings come in.
Defying the norms is one of the qualities that makes All Ears so unique. Rather than being hemmed in by the traditions of any particular genre, Habel finds ways to stand the form on its ear while still making it sound traditional. More than an interesting trick, it’s a sign that Juni Habel is going to be around for quite a while.
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