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There is something heavenly in finding something beautiful outside
of your normal existence. For me, I don't particularly care for
house-techno, and for the most part consider it monotonous and
a waste of listening time. But with Juniorboys, I found
something elegant, intelligent, and so subtly wrought that I could
be converted to listening to nothing else.
Its persuasion is so persistent and underemphasized that it could
be, theoretically, easily overlooked, but I feel drawn back to
it every time. What really does it for me is the asymmetric beats
and background nuances. The vocals are soft and informal, leading
the listener to lean into the songs yearning for more, but I wouldn't
change it because it adds to the aura of ambiance nicely set up
already. I am picky with sound effects on artificial pieces and
there is not one negative thing I could rack my brain to say about
this album. All pieces sound perfect together, and even counter-intuitive,
extraneous sounds (viewed from the outside), are never counter-intuitive
or extraneous.
The production does a lot of oxymoronic things such as the above,
but with beautiful final outcomes. Normally, space between beats
has the effect of slowing the momentum, forcing the song in a
wrong direction. But not so here, the space used helps maintain
the drive of the material while making it grander, bigger at the
same time. When was the last time you heard something so bare,
sound so large. Changes, especially within rhythm sections, are
exquisite, precise, and effective, "Last Exit" has some
changes that feel like they are breaking off of the album, but
remain within the willing context of the song to achieve a beautiful
effect.
The whole album could be summed up in one word: subtle. I tried
so hard above not to over use that word, but it could be expressed
for so many aspects of this piece. I could easily classify this
album as an instant classic, worth many listens and years of play.
Juniorboys subtle genius won me over, now you need to listen,
too.
-bishop
Track listing:
DISC 1
1) More Than Real
2) Bellona
3) High Come Down
4) Last Exit
5) Neon Rider
6) Birthday
7) Under the Sun
8) Three Words
9) Teach Me How to Fight
10) When I'm Not Around
DISC 2
1) Unbirthday
2) Last Exit (Fennesz Mix)
3) Birthday (Manitoba Mix)
4) A Certain Association
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