Album Review: Remi Wolf // Juno (Deluxe)

Island Records 

4  stars out of 5

Remi Wolf just released the deluxe edition of her late-2021 debut album Juno, with the album's vinyl shipping soon. Featuring five new tracks and a live version of the final track "Street You Live On," it's ultimately an unnecessary release, but serves to underscore the bizarre glory that the proper release of Juno is. That album itself is perhaps even an entire star rating higher than this one — and it's exactly what I want my album of the summer to be. Its 13 tracks are cohesive and brilliant, while existing amidst chaotic lowbrow sentiment. It's laugh-out-loud hilarious even upon multiple listens, channeling a retro tone as the perfect conveyance to Wolf's idiosyncratic lyricism. Choruses are catchy and anthemic, with multiple vocal tracks layered together constantly — a distinct absence in the deluxe version's five opening tracks, which ultimately read more as adroit yet forgettable bedroom pop. Last year, Wolf made a viral splash with her song "Photo ID" and has taken off since then. Not bad for someone who made it to Hollywood on American Idol in 2014 (she was 17 at the time). Fully coming into her own, complete with a surrealist aesthetic like Pee-wee's Playhouse colored by Lisa Frank, Remi Wolf is solidifying herself as a future superstar. — Nick Warren