Мания by Джуна (Review)

Russia’s Джуна (aka, Dzhuna) called it quits last month with one final show in their native Moscow after announcing their dissolution on social media. One month prior to that announcement, though, the band released Мания, their followup to 2020’s excellent Тюрьма.

All of this happened with relatively little fanfare outside the band’s own social media channels. That’s unfortunate because in their near-decade-long existence, Джуна displayed a remarkable knack for spinning together goth, post-punk, and shoegaze under the shadow of Natalia Evstegneeva’s icy vocals.

Opening track “Вертолёты” — which, according to Google, means “Helicopters” in English — instantly grabs you by the throat with its urgent, propulsive rhythms and scintillating guitars. Meanwhile, Evstegneeva’s voice rings with a cool detachment that imbues her Russian lyrics with equal parts style and menace. It’s the sort of song that feels distinctly out of time, and in the best possible way; had “Вертолёты” been released in, say, 1985, we’d all be hailing it as a long-lost and deeply influential post-punk gem.

So it goes with the rest of Мания. Those scintillating guitars also glitter their way all over songs like “Город” and the title track, with the former benefitting from gloomy synths that conjure up the ghosts of The Cure’s Faith and the former throwing in some sparkling harmonics for good measure. Meanwhile, icy notes flit and flicker throughout “Белый шум” and “Конец света” like snowflakes as Evstegneeva’s vocal harmonies complete the cooling effect.

It all makes for a very singular listening experience that can occasionally border on monochrome shades of wintry gray. Still, there’s no denying Джуна’s knack for pairing gloomily infectious melodies (the title track’s been stuck in my head for the last week or so) with impeccable and stylish atmospherics. Suffice to say, Мания is solid ending for a band that deserves far more attention outside its homeland.