Home is where the Heart Is: Junior Boys Heart Hamilton

Hamilton electro pop duo Junior Boys are used to critical acclaim. Their sophomore album, So This Is Goodbye, found a home on many critics’ best of 2006 lists and adulation is the norm in their reviews. Still, just because Junior Boys are loved by tastemakers doesn’t mean these critics are able to succinctly describe their sound.

The Guardian described the album as suggesting, “Talk Talk as produced by Timbaland,” which Junior Boys mainstay Jeremy Greenspan can only laugh about. “I always like reviews that say our record sounds like band x and band y, when there is really no connection between the two. I think that it is a positive thing to say because it shows that we are doing something unique. If critics were to say (the album) sounds like band x, it would mean that we were doing something a bit too common and cliché.”

Although the music that Greenspan and engineer Matt Didemus create can’t be easily summarized, it’s very easy to listen to. With its icy landscapes and alienated lyrics, Junior Boys manage to capture a mood of nostalgia within the context of a pop album. As it turns out, nostalgia for home played a prominent role in the making of So This is Goodbye.

“I think this is a very Canadian record. We tried to create a sound that conjures up images of large distances and empty spaces,” Greenspan explains. “We were conscious of making a record that you had to pay attention to these empty spaces. I think with this record we were reverential to where we are from, and to some extent, the lifestyle that we lead. We travel a lot and Hamilton has an atmosphere of being neither here nor there.”

Although their electro pop sound may seem at odds with music that you would imagine coming from The Hammer, Greenspan points to the influence that the early and mid-1990s techno scene in Hamilton had on Junior Boys.

“They used to throw parties in the East End of Hamilton and it was great because kids could come. There was no alcohol, it was all ages and that was a big influence. Hamilton has a history of having strong underground movements and I think that the Hamilton techno scene of that time was a bit more happening than the Toronto scene. That’s because Hamilton’s scene had a lot of association with the Detroit and Windsor techno scenes. DJs like Richie Hawtin and John Acquaviva would come and play shows and Toronto’s was more heavily influenced by stuff that was going on with the UK, like drum and bass.”

The melodic house element of Hamilton’s electronic scene has definitely influenced Junior Boys sound but the unique stature of the city may have an even bigger influence on Greenspan. “I’ve lived in other places before but I find that I become uncomfortable being at places too long outside of Hamilton. Hamilton is in a lot ways a forgotten city. It’s a bit isolated due to its proximity to Toronto. In a lot of ways, Hamilton’s relationship to Toronto is a mirror image of Canada’s relationship to America. It is so close to something that is so big, that it is often overlooked. In many ways, it’s a hyper-Canadian city.”

Junior Boys will admit that one of the benefits of living in Hamilton is that it so close to Toronto.

“We haven’t played in Toronto in almost a year and I think of this upcoming show at the Mod Club (on April 6) as a hometown show,” Greenspan says.

While they may produce critically adored albums, their live show is always evolving. One of the biggest problems that electro pop bands like Junior Boys face is translating their studio wizardry into a cohesive and engaging show.

Greenspan agrees, “Some times, the live tendency for musicians who do the same kind of music that we do is to turn it into some big rock show. We didn’t want to do that. We want to stay as true to the album as much as we could while changing the arrangements around enough that people still feel like they’re getting a unique experience from us.”

This means a change in philosophy. For their tour, Junior Boys are being accompanied by a drummer and are taking the odd approach of downgrading their stage show.

“We used to have a more elaborate light show but in order to do that successfully, we had to make changes musically – locking in some of our music so it would sync up with the lights,” Greenspan explains. “We don’t do that anymore and so we have a much worse light show, but it’s much truer to our music than it used to be.”

- Andrew Chin 

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