Juno - Music (Various Artists)

New York singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson may be familiar to many, seeing as her existing infamy is based on being one half of acerbic so-called 'anti-folk' duo The Moldy Peaches who made ripples around the turn of the century with taboo-provoking pared-down romps against this, that and the other. It might be a surprise to find her ramshackle and largely solo performances heading up a film soundtrack, but to Juno's independence and understated qualities she turns out to be a remarkably good fit. She's mellowed a little with age perhaps, but then to counter that claim take the track "Loose Lips"; she rallies through a nonchalant stream-of-consciousness rant against such adversaries as President Bush, the Iraq war and self-harm/suicide, curling out blunt matter-of-fact lines like "call me up before you're dead, we can make some plans instead," that in the simple is as simple does context she provides resonate beautifully. Hardly lightweight then, but far from coarse or unwieldy. Like the film itself, she handles issues with straightforward clarity, an ambling pace and effortless humour. And to complete the soundtrack, a couple of typically twee compositions from Belle & Sebastian, The Kinks' "A Well Respected Man", Sonic Youth's excellently woozy cover of The Carpenter's "Superstar", the Velvet Underground's daft as elastic "I'm Sticking with You" and Cat Power (the queen of ramshackle) with the fragile "Sea of Love", make this a delightfully humbling listen. --James Berry

Customer Reviews of Juno

MBrooks
Belgium
23rd September 2008

Quirky sing along
Loved the movie, bought the disc. Unlike some movie sound tracks where you wonder how you thought the soundtrack would keep alive the memory of the movie, this one really does. The quirky and independent music mirrors the film's style and characters, witty, unusual and highly entertaining. How can you not love a disc that includes such lyrics as from Kimya Dawson's 'Loose Lips'; "they think we're disposable, well both my thumbs opposable are spelled out on a double word and triple letter score". Awesome.

Monty
UK
17th September 2008

Better late than never
Only just seen the film recently, but was really taken with the music throughout. I purchased the CD and have given it a good few listens now and think this is an excellent album, I would recommend it to all those who enjoyed the film.

Lady P

11th May 2008

Beautiful
Delicate sounds; perfect for sitting in the sunshine with a glass of wine. This arrived on Friday - and I have not stopped listening to it... Kinya Dawson's lyrics are amazing. Highly recommended.

Nc Reynolds
Bristol, Uk
26th March 2008

Forget Soundtrack, this is my all time ALBUM of the year
This is sheer genius, I thought the film was supurb but I left the cinema thinking 'oh my god I need that soundtrack!' The songs are all thouroughly provoking, catchy, uplifting and simply unforgettable. I think anyone who has a sense of humour and an ounce of good music taste will adore this soundtrack.

Jonny
Stoke-on-Trent, UK
19th March 2008

An excellent soundtrack from a great movie!
This soundtrack is brilliant. It shows the individuality of Juno and you'll be surprised how good it is, even if you haven't heard of some of the artists!