Where does Junior Senior get off referencing Neil Young in the title of its new old album? There are no heroin references to be found anywhere in the Danish pop duo’s 2005 album, which just landed here in the U.S.
This album will satisfy those who felt hoodwinked buying Junior Senior’s first album, D-D-Don’t Stop the Beat, after hearing the band’s 2003 dance anthem “Move Your Feet.” That song can still be heard on a regular basis on San Francisco’s Energy 92.7-FM but the rest of the album sounds a lot more like The B-52s and early Bangles-style surf rock. Hey Hey My My Yo Yo moves both backward and forward in time from its predecessor, infused with the cold grooves of ’80s synth dance and sunny hooks reminiscent of The Brady Bunch and Donny and Marie. Cold and sunny? Yeah, sounds pretty northern Euro to me.
If that sounds like split personalities, the album actually comes together better than its predecessor, despite having a less cohesive style. Hey Hey My My Yo Yo even pays homage to its forbear by putting Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson on vocals in “Take My Time.” So what if its breakout single, “Can I Get Get Get,” isn’t as explosive as “Move Your Feet.” How can you resist a new track called, “We Are The Handclaps?” That’s right, and this time, the songs are sufficiently catchy and dancey but not so imbalanced to be unable to handle the segué.
With any luck, Junior Senior will be able to balance its dance and rock sensibilities if we ever see a third album. The worst thing wouldn’t be if one of those two styles gets dropped, it’d be if they became dance rock soundalikes. We don’t need another !!! or The Rapture; those bands do just fine on their own. Worse yet, we definitely don’t need another OK Go, the soundalike band that doesn’t sound like anything.
The Yellow Menace has found a way to be ghey without the Scissor Sisters. Find out how at theyellowmenace1@gmail.com.
