Words: Laura Mills
Swedish band Junodef released their latest single ‘Eurovision 2004’ on 12th May, the gigantic follow up to the well-received ‘Close’.
Musically, ‘Eurovision 2004’ feels melancholic and moody. It’s inspired by their love for Eurovision, which is a big part of popular culture in their homeland of Sweden, and a show the band get together to watch every year.
So, let’s just plunge right in, as this track does. It opens with a consistent marching beat of the drums alongside this rumbling bass, then comes this eerie guitar riff coursing through.
The sound created is something I’d associate with the creepy part of a horror film but in the most marvellous and effective way. It’s dark, and it’s very mysterious. The keyboard adds even more suspense to the sound: the tension is high, but what’s coming next?
Next, these heavenly vocals. Oh, those vocals; they almost glide into the song in the coolest, stylish manner. “Wondered where it’d go / If I let it” is drifting through the rumbling bass and marching drums, a voice so prominent and powerful. It is contrasting such a solid, confident sound could have vocals running through that feel like they’re floating above the sound and taking me with them.
The chorus shows the combination of instruments at its strongest. Vocally united in a harmonious tone, the guitar riff proceeds to travel around the force created by the drums and the deep bass keeps gruelling on.
I feel like you can almost tell the bands members’ relationships are strong; this appears reflected in their music through the blended sound they are producing.
Each instrument slowly dies down, and the simple strum of chords as the vocalist moves towards the mic demonstrates her true potential as the singer “Always giving in / Way too early / I should wait / Or I’ll regret it” sang focalised into the listener’s ears. It’s at the forefront of our mind – even racing around seconds after.
For me, this section is one of the strongest parts of this track. It feels raw, it feels gritty but most of all it feels real. Everything stripped back, we see the band for who they are.
Junodef, you have something very special.
Of the single, Junodef say: “The song was written in 2019, and was originally called Ukrainian Eurovision, because the heavy toms reminded us of Ruslana’s song Wild Dances from 2004. The title was meant as a tribute to one of our favourite countries in Eurovision (I mean Verka Serduchka, what a legend!) but after the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year we decided to scrap the name to avoid confusion around our intentions of this song and renamed it ‘Eurovision 2004’. It’s about playing with the idea of not caring about things that normally matter to you, and what the consequences of that would be.”
Having recently received support slots with Editors and October Drift, collaborating with Elliot Williams (Editors) on their ‘Covers EP’ and announcing their release party at The Windmill in London, the band are simply going from strength to strength and ‘Eurovision 2004’ is no exception.
Listen here https://open.spotify.com/album/67m7uGBBtyMjyjUJap0FZl?si=f_WasM7pSpWGWuHALwjuRA
