JUNIOR BOYS "So This Is Goodbye"

Recently, I was lucky to see old pal Torquil from "up and coming" band, Stars (I hope you think that's funny!). He was scheduled to do a very special guest DJ set at Union Hall after his band slayed the sweaty crowd at Siren 2006. Little did I know that he would take the whole thing over with his enthusiasm to make the kids dance. Three hours! Wow. Halfway through the Manhattan fueled evening, he let me in on a little secret. "Skip, do you Junior Boys?", he whispered. "No, I don't, any good?", I purred back. "Oh Skip!"....

Now that I have certainly discovered Junior Boys I understand his need to champion them. Like a perfect hybrid of his beloved Stars and UK's Hot Chip, Junior Boys quietly blip and bleep their way through their newest album "So This Is Goodbye", after releasing several 12 inches. Like Stars, they are from Canada, but unlike Stars, their emphasis is more on electronics, less on lyrics. On first listen, the entire album just passed me by, dynamically not challenging me to take a time out to really listen. However, that changed as certain songs started to pop out at me towards the middle of the LP.

Here's one of my favorite tracks. "So This Is Goodbye" is out on September 12 on Domino.

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