Jose Gonzalez's Junip & the Black Refuge EP

With all the press that Jose is getting these days - his many live shows and appearances with Zero 7 (we've mentioned him here, here, and here to name a few) - I thought I would once again call attention to his side band, Junip. Junip is/was a three piece band including organ and drums. They recorded a 5-song EP in 2005 which concludes with, what else, a solid cover - this time of Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad." While you lose the stand-alone brilliant guitar work from Jose, it is very interesting to hear his distinct voice with accompanying music. "Black Refuge" has consistently been in my iPod rotation since the first time I heard it. Unfortunately, you can't buy the cd anywhere in the States but you can download a couple tracks from their site (included below) and as I excitedly found the other day, you can download the entire EP here. You won't be disappointed.

Quicktime: Black Refuge (video)
MP3: Junip - "Black Refuge"
MP3: Junip - "Official"