Electronic music comes in all shapes and sizes. There’s the heavy, four-on-the-floor dance found at urban clubs, complete with seizure-inducing light shows (not to mention the ever popular, albeit grotesque, drunken make out). The dubious world beat groove heard spinning in a cheesy, dimly lit wine bar near you is actually tailored to dupe you into thinking that $15 for a martini is a reasonable price, maybe even cultured. And then there’s the avalanche of “chilled out” mixes (and remixes), which would be more aptly labeled “music for people in comas.” In short, there’s as much junk in electronica as in any other genre.Junior Boys are indeed electronic artists, the vocals being the only discernibly non-digital element to their palette. Though, through focusing on melody and arrangements, they craft tuneful electronic music—knob twisters and samplers of the song-loving variety. 2006’s So This Is Goodbye is filled with tasty electronic morsels of song. It is music befitting the morning and the night; emotionally effective, never overdone. This is indeed Junior Boys modus operandi. And it’s not surprising the same tasteful production can be found on their newest, Begone Dull Care.
Though where So This Is Goodbye was more direct, Begone Dull Care plays with the format, extending beginnings and endings, adding space between verses and choruses, lending to a dreaded sense that maybe ideas were lacking in the studio. Yet, it is still very satisfying music, with some very memorable passages: the mellifluous verses on “Parallel Lines”, the soothing approach of closer “What It’s For”, and all of the superlative “Hazel.”
In an interview with Pitchfork.com, vocalist and co-producer Jeremy Greenspan shed some light on the album’s style: “One of the dilemmas in electronic music is how do you nurture the unpredictability of it and make it immediate? How can you do something that requires attention to detail but not over-analyze every decision? That's why the songs are so long and have these over-extended intros and outros. I wanted to say this is our process. This is us exploring some idea to the Nth degree…the record is about laying things on the table and discovering where we're at.”
Well, Begone Dull Care is not immediate, and it’s not exactly unpredictable either. It is a gratifying listen, just not Junior Boys’ career masterstroke.
2 comments:
So you are grading albums now? And what is the REAL album cover. Searching on google gives me like 5 different ones. DAMNIT!
Oh ya, and I like the album, a lot. Agree with you completely about the older album though. I have some extra EP and random stuff from them that you would like. Remind me.
As far as I've read and seen, that is the official album cover...not that exciting, I know.
And yeah, i'm giving them grades cuz it's better than stars and people need a reference for all the rambling. It's basically meaningless, but not everyone feels like reading my droll...so they get a grade! If you got a problem with it, meet me at the playground after school!! And bring your lunch money!!
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