Sneak A Picture

I've been a big fan of Junior Boys ever since their debut album Last Exit hit in 2004. The duo have released four albums now and every one of them has been a winner in my eyes. Their approach to sound is really unique; nobody else quite captures their combination of chunky electronica, smooth vocals, and thoughtful lyrics. Jeremy Greenspan's blue-eyed soul-style vocals and their love for the occasional saxophone break has always made me think of them as a sort of modern Hall & Oates, if Hall & Oates were cool. But make no mistake, what these guys are doing is purely their own thing. They use electronics to build these sort of elliptical spaces within their music. What at first sounds quite simple reveals itself to be layers built upon layers of sound with repeated listens. Their lyrics tend to focus on love and heartache, and are generally delivered via metaphor and simile. The songs, even the most upbeat ones, are intimate, confessional even. To quote notoriously picky Guardian music reviewer Alexis Petridis (who loves them), "[They] balance dancefloor euphoria with a nagging, inescapable undercurrent of melancholy." I agree.

Easily one of my all-time favorite Junior Boys tracks is Sneak A Picture, from their 2009 album Begone Dull Care. The first time I heard this song I thought it was a bit unfocused and overly long. Repeated listens, as so often happens with their music, revealed it to be much more nuanced than I had initially given it credit for. After an extended, dreamy intro, the song begins in earnest, clean and simple, but steadily building, slowly adding those layers I mentioned earlier with each new verse and chorus, eventually dropping into a thick, heavy coda at the 4:53 mark. This steady tension finally pays off at 5:57, when the synths reach their full (yet oddly understated) power. Along the way there's a smooth sax break, done without an ounce of irony, and it actually works. That alone is pretty damn impressive if you ask me. Reading this you've probably been thinking, "Okay, he's talking about a dance track." But nope, Sneak A Picture is a slow jam -- in the purest sense of the term. In fact, this is one of the sexiest -- and darkly subversive -- slow jams I've ever heard. This is eletronica for adults. No mind-numbing EDM here. Get sexy and give it a few listens...

Game over, it's a new owner
Punches chipping off your pride
Move slower, you're one day older
Find the darkest side of the night

Sneak a picture above my shoulder
Don't make a sudden move
You'll spoil the light
Oh no

Once, double stride
Roll again 'til it's right
Twice, sudden start
Move around, find the part

Pan forward and frame the border
Clean up every matching line
She looks perfect in every color
Find the one that's not too bright

Sneak a picture of a cheap performer
Don't let it go too far
  'cause it's not the art
Oh no, oh no

Once, double stride
Roll again 'til it's right
Twice, sudden start
Move around, find the part

Once, double stride
Find your pace deep inside
Twice, sudden start
Sleep it off where you are

Once, know your smile
Add some more on your bedroom pile
Twice, trick your heart
Show the lens who you think you are

Sneak a picture
Catch an empty corner and dress it with a set
  of your best regrets
Then go, then go

Til it's right
Once, double stride
Find the part
Twice, sudden start
Deep inside
Once, double stride

Where you are
Twice, sudden star
Bedroom pile
Once, know your smile
Who you are
Twice, trick your heart