It's been a quiet few years for Canadian electro-duo JUNIOR BOYS - a sparkling debut and the subsequent highly-acclaimed sophomore 'So This is Goodbye' in 2006 and then...nothing. Co-founder and vocal handler Jeremy Greenspan apparently took some time off the day job and freelanced for New Jersey techno auteur Morgan Geist. With the release of their third LP, 'Begone Dull Care', there's a more concentrated, layered sound as they delve deeper into a less commercial but more rewarding brand of electronica.
I have good feelings about Junior Boys. 'So This is Goodbye' belongs to a nice time and a nice place in my life. My only issue with them on record has always been a tendency to sound restrained, recalling an updated version of 'A Broken Frame'-era Depeche Mode - all innocent beats, loops and a voice that sometimes just doesn't belong. This was certainly symptomatic of 'So This is Goodbye' at times, despite its radio-friendly sound and my affection for the album.
In the confines of the uber-pristine updated Highbury Garage (I refuse to refer to it by it's new name - which is taken from an energy drink - but not the one you're thinking of...), they bust loose with a swagger, confidence and sheer bloody pleasure that belies my reservations. Greenspan begins the set barracaded in by a guitar and keyboard set up, from where he emerges from after a couple of songs - an aimable frontman, working the genuine/likeable Canadian schtick to a tee. As the night wears one, he looks more and more like some freaky builder on ecstasy. It's a slightly disconcerting sight - this stocky, sweaty figure taking on the role of pied piper while his shall we say, more aesthically pleasing counterpart - Matt Didemus - twiddles knobs at the other side of the stage.
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Not that it detracts from the music; as a live proposition, Junior Boys produce living, breathing dance music - unique in that it resonates with a very human touch and an undercurrent of good old fashioned rock n roll. There's even a real live drummer in the stage set up which adds some bluster to the songs.
New album 'Begone Dull Care' gets some flexing too, with Greenspan's vocals more central to the complex production that characterises the record - but it's trademark tracks 'In the Morning' and the wonderful 'Birthday' that are given the best response from a crowd who couldn't be more adoring. Euphoric college kids mingle amongst literate Hoxtonites and city bankers.
At the bar, I meet a guy in his fifties who has been dragged here by an over-zealous sixteen year old son (they're 'bonding' apparently). The son dances like it's the end of time somewhere near stage left. As I leave, he emerges for a pint of water from the bar, grinning inanely at his father. It's a cute moment and a testiment to these skilled Canadian men.
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