Begone Dull Care

Junior Boys’ third work is inspired by a Canadian animator’s short film

Junior Boys is a Canadian electronic duo formed by Jeremy Greenspan and Johnny Dark in mid 1990s. Together these talented guys found their own style that combined their favorite music. Yet their demo recordings did not interest the recording companies at once and after a number of unsuccessful attempts the duo disbanded: Johnny Dark did not want to make music anymore. Luckily in 2002 KIN Records did approve of one of the recordings and Greenspan who still was reluctant to get desperate started from the very beginning once again with the sound engineer Matt Didemus. As a result some EPs came out and later, in 2004, the full length debut album Last Exit was released. Two years later the sophomore effort So This Is Goodbye saw the light of the day and Junior Boys showed what it was able to do on it indeed. This year the electronic band releases its third work Begone Dull Care which was inspired by the Canadian animator Norman McLaren and his eponymous short film.

Noises, beats and electronic tunes on Begone Dull Care

The album Begone Dull Care consists of 8 tracks long enough to make it last a bit less than 50 minutes all in all. During this time you are about to hear a wonderfully harmonious alternation of noises, beats, electronic melodies and Jeremy’s vocals sounding together as one long composition. The record opens with a contagious song Parallel Lines pleasing not only with a memorable chorus but also with interesting lyrics while the track Work is a bit darker and heavier piece with a pulsating beat and insistent blows throughout the whole track. What is pleasing is that it is followed by a much more joyful and optimistic number Bits & Pieces which can be danced to or just providing pleasure with its good music. The sounds of guitar refine the composition Dull To Pause that is sure to make you melt due to its softness especially as far as the vocals are concerned and splendid drums combining perfectly with a simple tune. The standard beat of the song Hazel makes it similar to the genre’s classic and gives a slight retro coloring – it makes one think of the electronic music of the 1980s. The album’s longest track Sneak A Picture proves to be among its highlights: an inimitable tune, created by some alien sounds and fantastic audio effects make the song the best representative of the electronic genre. A conceptual piece The Animator is filled with vivid imagery so the pictures are sure to get alive in your head while listening to it and a merry positive tune makes the effect even stronger. The album closes with the instrumental composition What It's For on which one can hear joy, reflections and a slight melancholy.

One of the year’s best electronic albums

No doubt the electronic music obtains a lot when it is made by people not devoid of rich imagination and sense of humor. These very aspects help Junior Boys create works that please with a wide spectrum of emotions, rich sound and almost tangible volume. Although previous albums have been somewhat tougher than Begone Dull Care it proves to be no less impressive and harmonious. As for the contents it is all about making animated films, the film Begone Dull Care itself and about those ideas that the album’s creators have had after watching the film. Taking into account the fact that the most successful compositions of Junior Boys are often remixed it is highly probable that we will soon hear new versions practically of each of 8 tracks as there are no failures on it for sure. As for the vocals, they also produce the most positive impressions. By the way last year Jeremy Greenspan performed 5 songs for Morgan Geist’s album Double Night Time which also confirms his unquestionable vocalist’s talent which together with the rest of the components makes Begone Dull Care one of the year’s best electronic albums.