This is a re-issue of the 2004 album by Canadian based trio the Junior Boys, from the generally reliable Domino Records. This version contains the original album along with a couple of interesting remixes. The Junior Boys aim to mix 80’s retro pop with minimalist garage, and with the exception of the first three songs it is fairly successful. Opening track ‘More Than Real’ features the stalker-like lyric “I’ve got your number, I’ve even know your street”, the second song ‘Bellona’ is memorable only for the rather odd distorted vocals during the chorus, which just sound like Orville, and the third track ‘High Come Down’ is best forgotten, sounding like Joe Pasquale ‘singing’ over a faulty central heating unit. After these the album improves dramatically and what they are trying to achieve shines through. The vulnerable vocals of the title track placed over the Orbital style backdrop is one of the albums highlights, which along with ‘Teach Me How To Fight’ show what this band are capable of. They also are not afraid to let their 80’s influences show through with ‘Birthday’ sounding like early New Order and ‘Under the Sun’ sounding like The Beloved. This album recently featured in the Guardian’s 1000 albums to hear before you die, although I wouldn’t quite go that far, this album is certainly an interesting distraction.
