Junior Senior Albums (2)
'Hey Hey My My Yo Yo'
Release Date 1/1/2005
Tracks 11
Label Crunchy Frog
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Junior Senior's second album is a dour, measured affair that pits subdued instrumentation against introspective lyrics and restrained vocals. Now, you didn't believe that, did you? As with their debut, Hey Hey My My Yo Yo is a Technicolor blaze of maximalist glory packed with over-the-top vocals, nonsense lyrics, woozy performances and dancefloor ready summer jams. And handclaps, you can't forget those. Jeppe "Senior" Laursen's production leaves no room for subtly which is fine because Jesper "Junior" Mortensen's vocals have none. He's a classic shouter firmly rooted in the Fred Schneider tradition (which makes the Cindy Wilson/Kate Pierson sung "Take My Time" seem just right) and while the album relies as much on the guest vocals (from all three members of Le Tigre, Anna Køster and amazingly, Motown girl group the Velvelettes) as it does his, his exuberant sensibility fills the proceedings with unhinged joy. On the songs he doesn't lead, you can picture him shaking his stuff with a huge grin on his face as the tapes roll. The record is filled with songs that should be hits; "Can I Get, Get, Get" (with Le Tigre's J.D. on vocals) is a disco ball floor filler, "We R the Handclaps" is the Jackson 5 on helium, "I Like Music (W.O.S.B.") is wonderfully hooky, space age Northern soul. Really you could pick any song on the album for that list of highlights; the record is that strong. There are few bands on the scene in 2007 that are filled with such light-hearted love of music and life without even a slight trace of irony or fakery. Their heavenly mix of mix of giddy silliness, pop smarts and pop culture overload makes Hey Hey My My Yo Yo a fun-filled joyride from beginning to end. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide
'D-D-Don't Don't Stop the Beat'
Release Date 1/1/2002
Tracks 14
Label Frog
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
On "White Trash," Junior Senior says it wants to sing like Nancy Sinatra, play like Stevie Wonder, and "show [it] has balls" like the New York Dolls, ambitions that would be more ridiculous if they didn't so accurately describe the Danish band's sound. Just as their Swedish counterparts, the Cardigans, once built clever pop songs on elements of bubblegum and lounge, Junior Senior makes dance music by mashing together disco, Prince-style electro-funk, '60s psychedelia, and garage rock. The results are goofy but undeniably exhilarating. D-D-Don't Don't Stop the Beat clocks in at a frenetic 32 minutes, leaving listeners little time to notice that its lyrics lack the jaded sophistication of the Cardigans' First Band on the Moon. "Come on in, hang your coats/Eat our chips, we've got loads" is a typical sentiment, and most of the songs seem to be about the fact that pint-sized mastermind Junior is into girls, while the giant Senior prefers boys. In other words, this stuff isn't likely to make you any smarter, but then, you don't need smarts to "shake your coconuts." You just need willing coconuts, though a giddy day-glo masterpiece like D-D-Don't Don't Stop the Beat helps a lot. ~ Daniel Browne, All Music Guide
