南ロンドンの至宝が放つ、剥き出しの感情と強靭な意志が宿った傑作。

南ロンドンの豊かな文化を背負い、鮮烈なデビューを果たしたJoy Crookes。マーキュリー賞やブリット・アワードへのノミネート、そして全英チャートTOP5入りという華々しい実績を誇る彼女が、前作『Skin』を遥かに凌ぐ深みとダイナミズムを携えて到達したのが本作だ。

アルバムタイトル『Juniper』は、過酷な環境でも生き抜く「常緑樹（ネズ）」に由来する。自身のメンタルヘルスやクィア・ラブ、業界の欺瞞、そして恋に落ちる瞬間の歓喜と恐怖。それらすべてを剥き出しの言葉で綴り、映画のようなスケール感で描き出している。制作陣にはJorja Smithを手掛けたBlue MayやStormzyを支えるTev’n、さらに客演としてVince StaplesやKanoといった豪華な面々が名を連ね、彼女の物語にさらなる熱量を与えた。

煌びやかなシンセが弾けるユーロ・ポップの躍動感から、ウェスタン調の乾いたギター、そして壮大なストリングスまで、その音像は実に多層的だ。ヴァイナルの盤面から放たれるのは、細部まで磨き抜かれた打楽器の鋭いアタックと、空気を震わせるほど生々しいヴォーカルの質感。厚みのあるベースラインと劇的なオーケストレーションが交差し、スピーカーの間に奥行きのある立体的な音響空間を創り出す。

A1. Brave
A2. Pass The Salt (feat Vince Staples)
A3. Carmen
A4. Perfect Crime
A5. Mathematics (feat Kano)
A6. House With A Pool
B1. I Know You'd Kill
B2. First Last Dance
B3. Mother
B4. Somebody To You
B5. Forever
B6. Paris

South London singer, songwriter and cultural powerhouse Joy Crookes has today unveiled the news that her worth-the-wait second album Juniper will be released on September 26th ahead of a full UK & EU headline tour.

A stunningly candid and fearless body of work, the album reaffirms Joy as one of the UK’s most vital and original voices. A once-in-a-generation talent, Crookes delivers a record that is both emotionally raw and sonically rich; humorous, heartbreaking and profoundly human.

Following the success of her 2021 debut Skin, which earned BRIT and Mercury Prize nominations, went Top 5 in the UK charts, and drew acclaim from The Guardian, NME and many more, Joy set out to make an album that pushed her further both musically and personally.

Juniper is the result: a project defined by its depth and dynamism.

Written with a stripped-back approach and produced by long-time collaborators including Blue May (Kano, Jorja Smith), Tev’n (Stormzy) and Harvey Grant (Arlo Parks),

Juniper features standout guest appearances from Vince Staples on the incendiary ‘Pass The Salt’ and Kano on the bittersweet confessional ‘Mathematics’.

Crookes describes the record as “more nuanced” than Skin: “With Juniper, every situation is visceral and I’m very much in it. It’s me in the centre of it all.”

The title itself nods to resilience (an evergreen that thrives in harsh conditions) and the album dives deep into themes of body politics, mental health, queer love, anxiety, industry hypocrisy and the ecstasy (and terror) of falling in love.

Lead singles like ‘Pass The Salt’ and ‘I Know You’d Kill’ showcase Crookes’ lyrical agility – blending poetic detail with razor-sharp wit. Meanwhile, the euro-pop inspired ‘First Last Dance’ channels euphoric melodies to mask deep emotional struggle, and the cinematic ‘Perfect Crime’ sees Joy fully self-actualise in the style of a Western showdown.

On ‘Paris’, the closing track, Joy reflects on a formative queer relationship: “Something I feared so much finally, actually felt like love.” It’s a sentiment echoed across Juniper – a record that captures the beauty and brutality of emotional openness.