Junior Boys' Begone Dull Care

Canadian electronic wonder duo, Junior Boys have been making a hodge podge of musical brilliance since their inception back in 2004. This is a group that from the get go has been fascinated by all sorts of music whether it be pure pop or house music and hasn't been afraid to show it. They've been hailed as brilliant bedsit dance pop as much as they've been derided for the same tag, but as they've grown over time, their sound and influences have become more refined and subtle and this is especially apparent on their latest album, Begone Dull Care.

With a name inspired from a joint collaboration between filmmaker Norman McLaren and legendary jazz musician Oscar Peterson, Junior Boys have created a record that's as sophisticated and dexterous as such a team up would insinuate. Begone Dull Care, is an artful and astute work that is the very definition of slow-motion disco. In fact, this record is so chilled out and refined that it comes with it's own personal refrigeration unit to keep things just the right amount of cool. If you're thinking, well that's a bad thing, it isn't in any way, shape or form. You see, Begone Dull Care is a brilliantly sublime and laid back record that despite it's name is never really dull at all.

Junior boys are a very detailed and exacting duo so their ability to create songs that very quietly hint at grooves while surrounding you with atmospherics should really come as no surprise. The beats and lazy, whispered vocals that permeate much of this record roll in quietly like a gentle wave washing up on the beach. Their inconspicuous nature may occasionally make the songs on Begone Dull Care sound like they are running into each other but that never detracts from the outstanding nature of the work as a whole. I would even say that Begone Dull Care is amongst the most sublime, gorgeous and majestically chilled records I've ever heard and it's so well stitched together by the Boys that you have to admire the lengths these guys have gone to, to create such a record album. Check, "Parallel Lines," "Bits and Pieces," and "The Animator," for examples of how well this group of Canadians piece together a song for superior laid-back disco effectiveness.

They may have started out by being influenced by everything, but Junior Boys have refined their world into something that's grand and nearly spiritual as opposed to a hodge podge of sounds. Begone Dull Care is a fantastic album from a group who have matured into a splendidly complex unit that's capable of creating songs that are intricately refreshing while still being accessible.