Last Exit - Junior Boys
Metascore
89 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 23 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. 100
    It's hard to believe there will be a better record than Last Exit released this year. [Jul 2004, p.102]
  2. 91
    They do it better [than the Postal Service]--catchier songs, chillier production and more sophisticated beats. [Nov 2004, p.118]
  3. It's thrillingly obvious that Junior Boys have made one of the year's best albums. [31 Jul 2004, p.41]
  4. There isn't a single mis-step on Last Exit.
  5. 90
    Tender dream-pop which is simulataneously familiar and novel. [Aug 2004, p.96]
  6. 90
    Presents a rarity--a genuinely new sound. [Nov 2004, p.136]
  7. If you like your pop a little left of center and found the Postal Service to be too cute and syrupy, your fix is here.
  8. Last Exit, while being one of the year's most cutting-edge releases, is, most importantly, a warm, friendly, entirely accessible pop album.
  9. Last Exit is a monumental debut... on par with It's My Life or Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret.
  10. Last Exit is a truly excellent album, one of the best of 2004 so far. But what is truly exciting is the promise Last Exit holds for the future – for that of the Junior Boys themselves and the countless others it is sure to inspire.
  11. Greenspan... manages to fold elements of nearly a quarter-century of forward-looking pop into a distinct sound without sounding either conceptual or trading on contradictions or the smoke-and-mirrors of attention-grabbing eclecticism.
  12. It is indeed a soaring achievement, one seemingly without missteps.... In fact, the only drawback of an album this expertly executed is its smoothness.
  13. Supple, stylish electro-pop so cool it makes glaciers jealous. [24 Sep 2004, p.106]
  14. 80
    But wait, you say you're sick of disingenuous irony? Well so are we, which is why Junior Boys is such an astounding relief, boarding on rapturous in their melancholy. [Jul/Aug 2004, p.125]
  15. It's '80s synth-pop in spirit rather than form, miles away from the make-up clad silliness of electroclash and much more interested in muching about with present day technology than simply recreating the past. [Jun 2004, p.98]
  16. In different hands, some of the songs might be butterscotch-smooth MOR but Jeremy Greenspan's voice never loses its neurotic edge.
  17. What keeps Last Exit grounded is the laid-back approach to the vocals and beats.
  18. Last Exit is noteworthy for taking on a sound that's easy to screw up (emoting over synthetic beats) and actually making it work.
  19. Junior Boys makes hushed, blippy dance music with a contemporary sensibility, as though Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark had been continuously recording since 1980.
  20. Your tolerance level for the group will probably mostly have to do with how well you can stand the rather light vocal stylings and the sometimes lighter-electronics programming.
  21. This is music that sounds like it was plotted by sad psychics graduates in lab coats. It's clean, melancholic and sterile (in a totally non-derogatory sense) - full of gently undulating rhythms and melodic pulses.
  22. What worries me about the obviously talented Junior Boys is their tendency to round their corners. The music is so safe, so pleasant; it's not hard to imagine it in the Starbucks CD rotation without raising an eyebrow.
  23. Elegant tech-house, sexy without being stoopid. [28 Oct 2004, p.100]
User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 42 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 34
  2. Negative: 5 out of 34
  1. HugoT.
    9
    It does sound bit cold but its more of dark ambient atmosphere...I dont see anything wrong on that! That's the way they told their story, I accepted and found this CD totally admirable! Everyone should spent more time with this one. Start with 'Teach me how to fight'! Full Review »
  2. [Anonymous]
    9
    Overall it's great. The minimal production adds much-needed sheen and elegance to the tired synth-pop formula, and parts, like the beautiful sighs of the title track, take your breath away. But the juxtaposition of quiet, breathy vocals and almost dancefloor-oriented beats sometimes creates an uncomfortable juxtaposition; it's almost as if there's no perfect place to listen to this record. I'd love for this to be a record to listen to quietly with headphones in the dark, but the sudden stabs of synth often jar me out of the state of total relaxation I feel the album is trying to create. However, the second disc from the US version is absolutely sublime: Unbirthday clears away layers from the original birthday, stripping it down to its beautiful core, and the two remixes are the finest songs I've heard in 2004. So that's an 8 for the first disc and a 10 for the second. Full Review »
  3. BobbyK.
    10
    Fantastic. Minimal, electronic with depth and emotion.