Although once a childhood dream to “be a Backstreet boy”, I think it is safe to say that Trunky Juno’s sonic landscape of lo-fi bedroom textures, indie-leaning guitar melodies and deadpan lyricism, somewhat reminiscent of Father John Misty, is a much better and exciting outfit for the recent Young Poet Records signee. The Durham-native brings out his 90’s/00s slack indie-rock influences on ‘Better Better’ with its janky Beck influenced drum groove and acoustic guitar sound during the verses before erupting into a Weezer-inspired distorted guitar driven chorus. Michael O’Neil AKA Trunky Juno’s trump card is his quirky wordplay. In a world where lyrics have become diluted and predictable, Trunky Juno quenches our thirst by bringing back excitement to lyrics in pop music. No one does it quite like the self-described “lo-fi noodler”, especially on his latest single ‘Better Better’. Juno tells his lover “I saw your face on a piece of toast/Turned out to just be some holy ghost” and “Tasted your lips on an envelope/ I swear I felt your skin on a cantaloupe”. The beauty behind his lyricism is that it makes you an active listener, going back and rewinding different sections to assure yourself you were correct in what you first thought you had heard. Mix that with infectious melodies and joyful pop-leaning chorus hooks and you get Durham’s very own Trunky Juno.