Junior Boys - Begone Dull Care

On their third album, Canadian electropop duo Junior Boys still can't shake off the nagging criticisms that have followed them since day one. Last Exit and So This Is Goodbye were beautiful-sounding but largely forgettable, because the pristine coolness of their production aesthetic meant little without great melodies. As expected, Begone Dull Care sounds gorgeous in headphones, especially moments like the intro of Dull To Pause, where a Spanish guitar trill is decayed until it sounds like electric raindrops. It's lovely, but the song winds down into nothing about halfway through, because Junior Boys are too cautious to take any risks. The brilliant next song Hazel steps forward with energy and feeling, yet its passion highlights their aloofness elsewhere. Like wallflowers, Junior Boys are easy to like but difficult to love, and unless they learn to loosen up a little they'll forever be stuck in the friend zone.