Guys, gals, and non-binary pals, grab your headphones because we’re diving headfirst into the glitter-fueled, sugar-coated chaos that is Remi Wolf’s debut album, ‘Juno’. This isn’t your safe, radio-friendly pop album, it’s a hyperactive fever dream that will make you dance, laugh, cry, and maybe feel slightly unhinged all at once. Every track is a neon shuffle where funk, absurdity, vulnerability, and unfiltered personality collide to create a brand new world. Wolf’s vocals flip from sweet and soulful to screaming-into-the-mic chaos in seconds, lyrics swing from hilarious pop-culture antics to surprisingly tender confessions, and the production sparkles like a disco ball on fire. Shoutout Solomonophonic. Strap in, folks, because this ride is going to be loud, messy, and alive.
We kick off with Liquor Store, a hangover-fueled cartoon of a song. Distorted guitar riffs go for days and sludgy drums with a funky bassline make the track really sticky sounding too. Without hesitation, Wolf tells us she has “two fish kissing on my clit motherfucker,” and just like that, we have an understanding of this unapologetically raw self that’s chaotic, funny, and edgy. It’s shoegaze-y rock colliding with glittery funk and a perfect mirror of Wolf’s sobriety struggles and addictive tendencies. The line “I always want more walking into the liquor store” hits like a punch wrapped in an earworm riff. This is an introductory statement to say the least…
I’m still unsure what this song even means, but Anthony Kiedis is a whirlwind of a track that feels like a jumble of thoughts. Remi is seen “making donuts with [her] body and talking with Jesus.” What do you mean you don’t get it? That’s the point. It’s a really extroverted number, fueled by erratic production and Remi swinging between ideas of… well, whatever. It details some thoughts on her personal life within lockdown, depicting loneliness, fame, and family, and I can only assume this is all a nod to the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ singer himself. A real genre-bend of a track.
Middle fingers up, because wyd is a pure “screw you, industry” kinda song. Remi emphasizes her frustration with pretentious music labels and bodies, on this one, saying “all these little bitches telling me what to do,” and lyrics critique the industry’s high-brow “escargot” and “good blow.” She has a desire to escape in this song, all set within her loud and exclamatory stamp and a bubbly production riding over it. Insane flow and a brand new energy seen from her here.
Swiftly follows Guerrilla, a bubblegum-pop track that sounds like the closest thing to jumping into a pit of fireworks. It’s unpredictably loud, chaotically thrilling, and super, super unstable. It’s about love, obsession, and passion (“he make an impression, look like my exes”), and bright synths crash alongside dancing guitars to depict the longing for simpler times. It has a real push-and-pull fashion tendency and the colourful unconventional vibe really recreates the whole meaning of pop as we know it. Can see this on ads for days.
Similarly with huge energy, Quiet On Set is a stop/start frenzy of Hollywood absurdity and industry mania. You can almost see Wolf sprinting through a film set smashing shit up in this one. Has a huge shout-back factor and the crowd energy would go crazy on this. It’s a real manic episode of a young adult coming to terms with unsettling LA parties and darker themes in industry exploitation. Remi just wants to “protect [her] energy,” but industry bosses are literally “eating [her] ass like the human centipede.” She’s yelling and confronting the unsaid here, all through a rebellious grin. It’s a weapon of a track and a jagged, crowd-pleasing gem.
Slowing the ride just a hair, Volkiano encompasses a lot of the reckless processes to do with heartbreak. The need for escapism smashes into life on this one, Remi buying her way out of despair, telling herself to “cool it with the credit card […] 25 leotards […] buy one of those plane tickets to Mars.” She’s running from love, drowning in fantasy, and chasing distraction. Solomonophonic’s production takes you into orbit here too, with a dramatic change in the outro to a sludgy halftime beat that spins you into a pop coma as Wolf repeats “get out of my head now.” Hands down the best switch-up I’ve heard in awhile, the production has transcended this track to another planet.
A real punch in the teeth, Front Tooth has sudden crescendos, screaming guitars and drums that hit like a WWE finisher. Remi is trying to get herself back (“wake my body up, please please wake it up!”), and it’s clear that this song is a more controlled panic release with pure performative aggression. Remi is wrestling with past trauma and emotional chaos, and somehow still makes it groovy and danceable at the same time. The punchy production makes this a class act and total knockout. Geddit?
Grumpy Old Man is a hilarious ode to the small frustrations in life. Personifying her irritations, Wolf shouts, “I’m so defensive, there are things over there that I do not know about yet”, as she is literally becoming an old, grumpy man who complains about everything in the community. She confesses she gets “caught up” with “eggshells on [her] doorstep,” as the bass meanders like a winding-up, grumpy old turtle before they snap. Feeling like a lost cause, Wolf is so overwhelmed by modern life here that she is throwing all of her frustrations into one track, completing the image of a “long-haired, long-bearded, turtleneck-sweatered” man.
In a volatile push-and-pull, Buttermilk is set over the extended metaphor of churning butter, as it says on the tin really. Unpredictable relationships, toxic attachment and cyclical heartbreak are apparent here, and the beat itself can’t decide what to do. It’s toxic and sour, about attachment, co-dependency, and emotional turmoil as Remi says she “goes in circles” and passes pain like “hot potato[es].” It’s really Gen-Z description of a toxic relationship. Lyrics are all over the place, layers build bit by bit, and the backing vocals really add another dynamic layer to this one. There is no clear resolution or conclusion to this track either. A real live wire of a song.
Sally now sees Remi as a more mysterious and vulnerable character. New love tangled with old wounds, this track is anxious, self-doubting, and seeks a lot of clarity. The deliberate overkill of autotune adds another dimension to this track, with Wolf intimately saying she is “anxious to find out that [her new lover was] just a premonition,” before exploding into a chant that you can scream out of your Jeep Avenger on a road trip: “I don’t wanna waste another night.” It’s a real emotional and vulnerable song and it’s plain to see that Wolf is constantly waiting to feel clear and clean from past pain, but there’s still some smokiness needing to be cleared before she can get there.
Leaning into her mischievous, Sexy Villain, derails Remi from what we know and gives her a new dangerous persona. It’s a fun, playfully toxic song as Wolf portrays herself as the bad guy, saying she’s “cool with the fighting, cool with the scratching and biting,” and “cool with the cops uninvited.” Really the femme fatale here. Sultry and magnetic, she is really coming across desirable here, and the deep, sexy bassline only exaggerates this further. It’s a real groove and an ode to the old Remi production we know and love.
Existing as pure exhilaration, Buzz Me In is the perfect depiction of falling head over heels for somebody. It’s a messy and intense relationship. Wolf says “we can dance around it and lie lie lie,” and wishes her new lover is “not like those other guys,” as she appears delusional and ignorant of all red flags, instead just wanting to be infatuated with her new lover. She wants to be let in at her lover’s gate physically, but also in their heart metaphorically. Really dancing between the real and fantasy here, this track is set over a vibrant pop scene that is electrifying in its sound and have a utopian 60s hippie vibe. It’s physically ALIVE!
And then finally, set over a real steady beat, Street You Live On closes the album like credits to Remi’s life. A dreamy navigation to avoid her ex’s street, detuned vocals and childlike chants say “I avoid the street you live in, you’re a magnet pulling my feet and my head off.” Here, Remi is literally avoiding the physical distance from her ex, emotionally avoiding the area to not go back into her thoughts about things. The detuned effects really add to this despair too, and it’s a sad conclusion, with Remi personifying herself as a “feral cat […] licking up the milk at your door.” The slow exhale of this cut is reflective and bittersweet at the same time. It has a much more grown-up sound, showing that Wolf can avoid her triggers in the messy, colourful world of this album, and really, through it all, she is just utterly human.
Honestly, ‘Juno’ is totally unmissable. This album mixes hyper-energetic pop with serious themes of addiction and emotional turmoil, all through glittered funk bangers, manic pop, and tenderly lit reflections. There’s no autopilot or safe space here. Remi wears her heart on her sleeve throughout the release to create an absurd spectacle, giving a vibrant, quirky, but ultimately humanising experience to her emotions all for our ears. Blessed.
Glerbie 