Joy Crookes – Juniper [White Vinyl LP]

Joy Crookes – Juniper [White Vinyl LP]

Details

• Format: LP, Album, Limited Edition, Gatefold, White Vinyl + Booklet
• Catalogue Number: 19802926381
• Barcode: 198029263817
• Genre: Neo-Soul, R&B, Alternative Pop
• Label: Insanity Records / Sony Music UK
• Released: 19 September 2025
• Vinyl Colour: White
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

Joy Crookes' debut album Skin (2021) arrived fully formed — a record of South London soul, orchestral lushness, and lyrical precision that earned BRIT Award and Mercury Prize nominations, reached the UK Top 5, and established her as one of the most distinctive voices in British music. Juniper, her long-awaited second album, was made in harder circumstances. Written during and after a mental health crisis, the record took shape in studios that became, in Crookes' own words, a solace from the difficulties surrounding its creation. The result is an album of considerable emotional range — funny and devastating in turns, sonically expansive but grounded in a directness that makes the harder moments land with real weight. "With Juniper, every situation is visceral and I'm very much in it," she has said. "It's me in the centre of it all."

Produced primarily by Blue May (Jorja Smith, Kano), with additional production from Harvey Grant (Arlo Parks), Tev'n (Stormzy), and Chrome Sparks, Juniper moves through neo-soul, jazz, orchestral pop, and euro-inflected dance without ever losing the thread of Crookes' voice and perspective. String arrangements by Amy Langley run through several of the album's most affecting tracks, while the record's rhythm section — bassist Alex Bonfanti and drummer Nathan Allen — provides a looseness and warmth that keeps even the more formally ambitious moments grounded. Guest appearances from Vince Staples on the taut, percussive 'Pass the Salt' and Kano on the bittersweet 'Mathematics' bring two of the most distinct voices in rap into Crookes' world without disruption. The album was mixed throughout by Blue May and mastered by Matt Colton.

Thematically, Juniper takes its name from a resilient evergreen that survives in harsh conditions — a metaphor Crookes deploys with characteristic understatement. The album addresses body politics, industry hypocrisy, anxiety, and queer love with specificity and wit rather than generality, and its emotional arc moves from the defiant opener 'Brave' through to the intimacy of the closing 'Paris', in which Crookes reflects on a formative queer relationship: "Something I feared so much finally, actually felt like love." Among its many points of interest is 'Carmen', which Crookes acknowledges unintentionally channelled Elton John and Bernie Taupin's 'Bennie and the Jets' closely enough that both are credited as co-writers on the track — a detail that says something about the breadth of influences moving through the record. Critical reception on release was unanimously strong: The Guardian's Alexis Petridis described it as "an ambitious, emotionally rich record" confirming Crookes as one of the UK's most compelling artists.

This indie retail exclusive edition is pressed on white vinyl and housed in a gatefold sleeve. It includes a lyric and photo booklet featuring handwritten notes, family portraits, and behind-the-scenes studio imagery.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Brave
2. Pass the Salt (feat. Vince Staples)
3. Carmen
4. Perfect Crime
5. Mathematics (feat. Kano)
6. House With a Pool

Side B

1. I Know You'd Kill
2. First Last Dance
3. Mother
4. Somebody to You
5. Forever
6. Paris

Credits

• Joy Crookes – lead vocals, organ (track 2), guitar (track 4), background vocals (tracks 3, 4, 6–9, 11, 12)
• Vince Staples – guest vocals (track 2)
• Kano – guest vocals (track 5)
• Produced by – Blue May (tracks 1, 2, 6, 8, 11), Harvey Grant (tracks 4, 11), Tev'n (tracks 6, 8, 12), Chrome Sparks (track 11)
• String Arrangement & Music Direction – Amy Langley
• Mixed by – Blue May
• Mastered by – Matt Colton
• Alex Bonfanti – bass, piano
• Nathan Allen – drums
• Sam Beste – piano
• Steve Pringle – Hammond organ, synthesizer, Mellotron, Rhodes
• Label – Insanity Records / Sony Music UK