Junket, the four-piece alternative Rock band from Orange County, NY, is back with new music after 10 years, with their killer single, "Red Handed."
Comprised of Junket are Chris Wicher (vocals), Michael Miller (guitar), Kyle Hallenbeck (bass), and Chad Babcock (drums), Junket is ensuring their listeners that it has been worth the wait to experience this single that fluidly combines introspective melodies with intense layers of sound.
Tapping into their inspiration from the hit TV series, Dexter, Junket bases the content of “Red Handed,” around the television show's plotline. Lead vocalist Chris Wicher wanted to create a joyful-sounding tune that revolves around the dark subject matter, where the story being told is done in a first-person narrative. Produced by Sean-Paul Pillsworth at Nada Recording Studios in Montgomery, NY, the animated sounds lift out of the speakers and explode upon impact.
The production quality is top tier as you immerse yourself in the intricate arrangement that plays before us. This edge-filled composition carries its own boisterous person with each colossal drum hit, triumphant guitar riff, and rhythmic bassline performed.
There is texture in the vocal as we progress through the narrative that embodies the rampant energy of liveliness to the fullest. Creating a dramatic flair that surges through the lyrical dexterity, we’re washed into a crashing wave of colliding sounds that exemplify the trademarks of Rock meets Punk resonance.
Amplifying their presence with prevailing tenors, a scathing condemnation of dominance is what can be heard far and wide from Junket. Illuminating their stage that they are rightfully taking back after their 10-year hiatus, we think that we can hand the throne back over to Junket now.
Congratulations on your return of “Red Handed.” How does it feel to be back after a 10-yea hiatus from the music industry?
First off, it’s always cathartic to get original music out there into the universe. To be able to share something you’ve created and get a response from others...there’s nothing else quite like that. Having all that time in between releases certainly gave us time to reflect and concentrate on other endeavors, as well as write music we felt would be our best offerings to date. It certainly feels nice to get back into the swing of things!
What things do you see differently or similarly as to when you last came out with a track?
The process has pretty much been the same for us. Conception, recording a demo, messing with the song, and then recording and mastering. But I think this time around we had a better picture of what we were trying to create even before the recording process.
We love the concept of “Red Handed.” Could you please take us into what the creative and recording process looked like when bringing this song to life?
Musically we’ve had the idea for this song for a while and the melody for the chorus came pretty quick. Random thought of the show Dexter came around from the episode where his sister finds him killing another murderer and the first line of the chorus popped into my head. The rest of the chorus came pretty quick and the guys loved it. After messing with the track for a few more months and playing it out at a few gigs we realized we should get it recorded. As for recording, it was our first time at Nada Recording studio in Montgomery, NY. We’ve always wanted to check it out and the timing couldn’t have worked out any better. It was a pleasure working with our recording engineer Sean-Paul Pillsworth who recorded and mixed us and John Nacliero who mastered the track.
Why did the band choose Dexter to play such a large influence over the song's narrative?
I don’t think it was necessarily a “choice” to use Dexter. When you write a song there are all sorts of nuances that kind of lead you into a certain direction for writing lyrics - the music, the mood, or a random thought that seems to strike you at that particular moment. So I think it was just a perfect storm of all those factors that made it seem like a great fit for the track.
What can fans anticipate next? Well, we recorded three new tracks at our last session so certainly the two remaining tracks will be shared soon enough. But we’re also planning to record other new tunes we have at the ready. I'd say we’ll have those by summer or fall of 2021. It’s going to be a great year for new Junket music!