Junior Boys – A Truly Happy Ending
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Feels weird to even say that the Junior Boys’ fourth album is coming out in a month. Or, more accurately, that it would be worth listening to. Been loving these guys since their debut, but I didn’t have a lot of faith in their staying power after producer Johnny Dark left. I held on to Last Exit as their best for years afterward, but they’ve aged well in the absence of the U.K. garage-inspired stutter shuffle. Begone Dull Care might be my favorite album of theirs these days, though Last Exit still has the best ballad (“Three Words”).
The new album, It’s All True, sees them looking outward for style influence but still putting out solid electro-pop. A few songs pare away the beats and bravely focus on minimal songcraft; the naked pulse of “Playtime” in particular is an early ’80s Phil Collins brooder with codependent lyricism. But I’m leaving you with “A Truly Happy Ending,” an uptempo tune that disguises more of Jeremy Greenspan’s double-edged musing on relationships. It’s a good intro to the album, due out in a month.
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Junior Boys – A Truly Happy Ending [download]
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