Get Get Get Your Party Party On On

In the latest UR Chicago, I reviewed Junior Senior's new(-ish) album, Hey Hey My My Yo Yo. It's so hard to compress all your thoughts about one album into 150 words, and I'm not going to quote the whohttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifle review here, but phrases like "non-stop party marathon," "the 80's are back in full force" and "generic, anonymous lyrics" give you an idea. (You can find the review at their website in the Reverb section until the next issue's reviews replace it.)

HHMMYY really threw me for a loop. They managed to evolve by regressing. It's like they combined the R&B/disco/pop of the 70's and 80's with their Casio-keyboard productions in a dehydrator: all the unwanted fat dripped off and you're left with tight, crisp sonic nuggets. The Danish duo adds piano and hand claps to what sounds like a Jackson 5 cover on "Ur a Girl." The single "Can I Get Get Get" (they obviously really like stuttering words and repetitive titles) is squeaky, squirmy cartoon funk. Like the Junkyard Gang got horny. And one of the highlights is when Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson of the B-52's belt like gangbusters through "Take Your Time." Through not one but two key changes, they buttress the giddy melody to its euphoric highs.

They're seriously focused on having fun: nothing lasts even four minutes and there's not a mid-tempo song or ballad in the bunch. Unfortunately, that's where I got a smidge disappointed. Sure, they're having a lot of fun and throwing one hell of a party, but the hosts remain anonymous. On the sunny surfer pop of their first album, D-D-Don't Stop the Beat, straight "Junior" and gay "Senior" had a funny back-and-forth repartee that was quirky and unique. "B-b-b-b-boys are handsome and tall," sang Senior. "G-g-g-g-girls are nasty and small," chimed in Junior. They sang of "Chicks and Dicks" and every little hipster in nail polish and hipsterette with buzzed hair felt equally sexy.

It seems that, in an effort to really focus on their aesthetic, they felt they had to check their personalities at the door. Obviously they can't ride their "one of us is gay and one is straight!" act for too long. It's a gimmick that wears out its welcome as fast as being a gay white rapper. But did they have to resort to such banal, "break it up, break it down" lyrics in order to serve their musical vision? "Senior" barely even shows up to sing or rap at all. They do, however, present themselves as the coolest of the uncool nerds, so Junior probably doesn't mind dancing all by himself.

Also check out: Okay, Go: Dance Duo Edition (Justice and Junior Senior)
And: Rock the Cazwell