Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The cleansing rituals of old have largely been forgotten as we move away from ancestral paths that once guided us, the rites and blessing that once offered us protection as we inhaled its smoke, has now been replaced by a chemical imbalance. We are healthier perhaps, but our souls have become tainted, trapped in a smog not of nature’s power and ritual, the smell of Juniper berries is no longer in the air, it is the taste of compliance and regret.

Murph Bower, the return in pseudonym style of Dave Murphy, showcases the ability to feel the cleansing and power of the natural as the talented musician reveals the scene of his triumph in E.P. form, Juniper.

The four tracks are ones of the mystical, they hold sway when others around them retire in the presence of false perfume and intoxicating toxicity. They are the preserve of the natural instinct, Murph Bower is conductor, an alchemist in full flight and arrangement as the tales within are let loose in the spirit of cleansing, and renewal.

Instinct, a modern term arguably for hearing the past, but also one of the compositions of the age we are predisposed to venture within; and Murph Bower accomplishes this with grace and fortune. Through the tracks Dark Water, Take Your Pills, Weekend Pilot, and the E.P. title track Juniper, the musician’s instinct is persuasive, one of compassion, of feeling in touch with the air around them, and they result in songs of conviction and pleasure.

Much must be said of Murph Bower/Dave Murphy, his ability to titillate the instrument of choice is one to take heed of, a sense of purity to which he brings the listener a spiritual rebirth is exciting, and full of clarity; he is a guru and a healer, and no wonder that he captures the air of nature so well.

A wonderful return, a gorgeous understanding of what has been missed in the ether and in the ears and soul, a captivating release by a senator of the natural, Juniper cleanses and fills with ease.

Ian D. Hall