Joy Crookes Finds Freedom in Imperfection as She Unveils Second Album Juniper
Joy Crookes has noway been one to follow a neat script. The South London songster- tunesmith, celebrated for her Irish-Bangladeshi roots and soulful liar, has chosen honesty over polish for her long-awaited alternate reader, Juniper.
And the adventure has paid off. The 26- time-old artist, formerly hailed as the voice of a new generation with her Mercury Prize-nominated debut Skin in 2021, admits she no longer chases perfection in her music. Rather, she’s embraced the raw, the messy, and the mortal.
“Growing up, my dad used to talk about how Van Morrison would ‘let go’ in his songs – there are moments in Listen to the Lion and Astral Weeks where he’s just free,” she recalls.
“And I think for the first time ever in my career, and just as a person, I let myself go on this record.”
Music critics often warn of the dreaded “second album slump”. But Crookes never saw writer’s block as the problem.
“People think the scary part of your second album is the writing,” she explains. “Like, ‘Oh no, what am I going to say?’ For me, I’ve always got something to [expletive] say, so it wasn’t that difficult to write.”
Her challenge wasn’t the lyrics but landing a sound that matched the weight of her words.
Tracks similar to Perfect Crime, a hoarse, sultry dancefloor hymn, took up to 30 takes before she felt the defects landed just right.
On others, like the deeply personal Mother and the breakup anthem Mathematics, the first take was enough.
we go again… 4 years after being named ‘that girl from FIFA’ I’m back on the pitch…my brand new track “Fade Your Heart”, is going to be on EAFC 26 ⚽
The ONLY WAY you can hear it is on this very special White Label edition CD of ‘Juniper’ !!https://t.co/DZvpxrCJOX pic.twitter.com/LL4oPDm3xb
— Joy Crookes (@joycrookes) September 16, 2025
“It’s incredibly janky, but, for me, the jank is the important thing,” she laughs. “If it were polished, it’d ruin the fun of the song.”
Behind the artistry lay a tougher truth. Crookes reveals the years following Skin were clouded by anxiety, worsened by personal struggles and an abusive relationship.
“The anxiety had become so significant that it had become completely physical,” she says. “It wasn’t just panic attacks. I couldn’t keep food down. Everything I did involved me having a vomiting attack.”
It was intrusive therapy and the support of close friends that pulled her back. The turning point came with First Last Dance, a glittering pop track that confronts anxiety head-on while refusing to let it dominate her life.
The album is not just about pain. There are flashes of joy, resilience, and loyalty. On I Know You’d Kill, she pays tribute to her manager, Charlie, who once fiercely protected her in a tense situation.
Crookes’ memories of that moment, tinged with humour and psychedelic haze, capture the bond that kept her grounded.
Other tracks, similar to Notoriety To You, look outward, questioning identity beyond connections and the aspect
of the music assiduity.
“I’ve been in this industry since I was a child, and I don’t really want to be defined by just music,” she says. “I’d like to think that my life is a plethora of things. My identity is complex.”
Crookes has already begun exploring that complexity. She recently made her film debut in Ish, which won the audience award at the Venice Film Festival.
The singer admits she dreams of joining Gurinder Chadha’s long-anticipated sequel to Bend It Like Beckham, both on the soundtrack and on screen.
“I mean, it literally touches on brownness and Irishness – and you can tell that there was a time where it was meant to be a lesbian story, as well,” she says with intrigue.
For now, however, all eyes are on Juniper. A body of work shaped by struggle, humour, and an unyielding honesty. Crookes admits its release brings both pride and sadness.
“When you overcome stuff like that, one minute you feel so proud and the next you feel so sad for yourself that you went through such a hard time,” she reflects.
“It’s what makes releasing this album so euphoric and so sad at the same time.”
But there’s no depression in sight. She’s formerly sketching ideas for her third reader, with a newfound lightness.
“I feel very alive at the moment, and I am so grateful,” she says. “I’m making jokes about stuff that would have absolutely floored me two years ago.”
Joy Crookes’ journey has been anything but perfect. And that, it turns out, is exactly what makes her music unforgettable.
