New York City-based band Juice have shared their new single “Konoha,” exemplifying self-growth as it relates to navigating through the pain associated with romance and friendships. The word ‘Konoha’ comes from the anime Naruto, and refers to “The Village Hidden in the Leaves,” the titular character’s home. Naruto is a story about a young boy who, by developing close relationships with the people in his village, becomes his best and truest self. The narrative here enhances Juice’s own aptitude for lyrical and thematic ventures.
Navigating their way through the intersections of different genres, Juice makes “Konoha” an emotional exploration rather than a formal sonic experiment. Still, starry guitars, a buoyant bassline, up-tempo drums, and alluring strings occupy the aural streets of “Konoha.” Heartfelt indie-pop, vibrant R&B, and tender hip-hop tones seamlessly come together alongside striking singing, crooning, and rapping from multiple vocalists with absolute poetic prowess.
Here’s what Juice had to say about the new single:
“‘Konoha’ considers personal growth as it relates to romantic love and friendships. It’s about looking around you and realizing that there are all these experiences to have and all these people to appreciate and all these reasons to love them. So it’s a love song about growing, or a growth song about love, or a song about one of our favorite TV shows.”
“Konoha” follows their previous 2020 single “DiCaprio (Love Me All the Time)” and its accompanying music video (directed by Logan Regnier). The single gathered inspiration from late ‘90s/early 2000’s pop, hip-hop, and boy bands while the music video takes cues from past media of the band’s childhood.
The band is comprised of Ben Stevens (vocals), Christian Rose (violin, vocals), Kamau Burton (vocals, acoustic guitar), Daniel Moss (guitar), Michael Ricciardulli (guitar), Rami El-Abidin (bass), and Miles Clyatt (drums). After graduating Boston College in 2018, Juice released their first professional EP, 2018’s Workin’ on Lovin’. With that new music and two old minivans, the band hit the road for an almost non-stop year and a half of national touring. They released their follow-up EP you are simply magnificent last summer.
Juice is working on their next EP set to be release later this year. They will be announcing more tour dates in support of new music soon.