Junior BoysClub Academy
9th June
Ontario, Canada duo Junior Boys are tonight greeted by a small but dedicated crowd at Club Academy in support of their excellent third album Begone Dull Care.
Singer Jeremy Greenspan complains of being as “sick as a dawg” but still produces a sparkling vocal performance while side kick Johnny Dark gets mean and moody on an army of synths and gadgets.
The last time we found the duo at a late night High Voltage session, they were tight, disciplined but worryingly calculated. Two years on, they seem to have loosened up and, although a different proposition to their high-production valued records, the ‘Boys appear energised by their pop-tastic new material.
The funky, 80s soul of ‘Hazel’ is bunged out early on, Greenspan delivering OTT vocal croons over crisp electronics and sharp drumming provided by a head-phoned sessioner.
‘Parallel Lines’ soon follows: it’s drawn-out, chilling atmospherics falling flat with a crowd with eyes on the dance floor. They hit stride with the monotone grove of ‘Work’ before fitting in older gems alongside newer material. Of the latter, ‘Bits & Pieces’ is immaculate synth-pop without the hipster posturing of contemporaries Chromeo, while ‘In The Morning’ (from 2006’s breakthrough album So This Is Goodbye) recieves the biggest cheers of the night.
Ending with a lengthy, guitar-led rock out, Junior Boys hint at a possible change in sonic direction. If you ask us, their electronic pop fits just fine, even if crowd numbers don’t hit the heights or cool value of Domino label mates Animal Collective or Franz Ferdinand.
Written originally for City Life.
