In the decade-plus since the swoon-worthy early singles that introduced their then-innovative blend of cutting-edge electro-pop and burnished, twilit R&B, Hamilton, Ontario’s Junior Boys have tried out an array of approaches and inspirations, but they always end up sounding predominantly like themselves: resolutely tasteful, but not overly slick; at once earnest and detached, introspective and slyly witty.
So it is with Big Black Coat, their first LP in five years and their liveliest, most varied offering since their debut. The highlights, following suit from Jeremy Greenspan’s sleekly modern productions for Jessy Lanza and for Dan Snaith’s Jiaolong label, are—speaking relatively—the rawest, loosest JBs cuts to date: twitchy electro-soul opener “You Say That,” a sparky, kinetic rework of 1978 soul chestnut “What You Won’t Do For Love” and several shockingly stark, hard-hitting house and techno workouts, including the title cut’s nervy, acid-washed weirdness. Songwriting is far from the top priority here, but that’s only really an issue with the sadly negligible ballads and murkier mood pieces that round out the album.
—K. Ross Hoffman
