JUNEGRASS

Junegrass biography
Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, instrumental band JUNEGRASS, formed in 2017-2018, comprises original members Grant ENGSTROM (guitar), Jack SCHEMENAUER (drums), Ben BRAZIL (bass) and new members Jeff BOLLING (guitar) and Anthony FORD (saxophone) who replaced original members Cole JOHNSON (keys) and Spencer RADCLIFFE (alto saxophone, guitar, percussion).

The original grassers released their debut cassette-only album, barely an LP with its 29 minutes, "Electric Grass" (July 13, 2018), subsequently attached with descriptors such as "smooth sax, steady rockin' ride, mellowed out cowbell, devotional organ, guitar like the Fillmore".

It was followed by the new lineup's 15 minutes' EP "Keen On" (July 29, 2022), a release that to some felt like "slow, dark clouds rolling in the distance - rolling, folding, a slow burn, eclectic..." and "tight and lively skronky funk grooves that shows off an ability to stretch things out and reach ecstatic peaks all in short five minute intervals leaving room to wonder what kind of magic may come from a longer live exhibition". This was followed by a post on the band's Facebook page in March 2023 stating that BOLLING had left the band.

Stylistically, JUNEGRASS, described by some as veteran "jammers harvesting a crop of instrumentals that cross psychedelia, prog and post-rock (with additional keys and sax)" and by others as "a shapeshifting group of rock and roll explorers who bridge gaps between genre and open doors to new sonic dimensions", could fairly be described as a krautrock band, presumably being influenced in equal measure by Captain Beefheart and Agitation Free whose influence can both be heard. Fans of psychedelic/space rock such as Kungens Män will also find much to enjoy here. Although bluesy at times, the bass, guitar and sax work reside in krautrock substantiated by the jam-focused, jazzy, psychedelic, spacey instrumentals with the occasional saxophone and throbbing bass.


- earlyprog, March 2023