So This Is Goodbye
by Junior Boys
  • Record Label: Domino
  • Release Date: Sep 12, 2006
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 32
  3. Negative: 1 out of 32
  1. Stylus Magazine
    100
    Where Last Exit was indebted to the clubbier side of dance pop--with its tendency to wind songs around Dark’s close-clipped beats--So This Is Goodbye is a post-aught pop record first and foremost, an elegant, spacious collection of flash-frozen R&B and soft disco laments.
  2. The A.V. Club
    91
    These songs are complicated robots.
  3. Pitchfork
    90
    So This Is Goodbye isn't just an improbable notch above 2004's Last Exit-- it's also among the best records you'll hear all year.
  5. Drawer B
    90
    This is dance music with unquestionable soul.
  6. musicOMH.com
    90
    One moment I feel like I am listening to Underworld's frantic blast combined with the Blue Nile's slowly evolving elegance, the next it could be The Pet Shop Boys' sailing in the slip stream of Depeche Mode. I can't nail down the sound beyond the fact that it's breathtaking.
  7. Neumu.net
    90
    The icy qualities of Last Exit's synths are retained, but the old minimalism is certainly gone, and enough real warmth buoys these productions that songcraft actually develops.
  8. The Boston Phoenix
    88
    You can’t ask for much more from a sophomore album.
  9. Filter
    88
    As on 2004's Last Exit, their arrangements are deftly drawn, precisely executed and drenched in pretense-free pop. [#22, p.96]
    All this publication's reviews
  10. Almost Cool
    83
    Even more engaging than their debut, So This Is Goodbye is another amazing album from Junior Boys, and one of the better releases of the year.
  11. cokemachineglow
    83
    While This is Goodbye does suffer, like Last Exit, from being a little too consistent (there’s very little variation in tempo or arrangement, or theme for that matter), it's as cohesive a listening experience as almost any album I’ve heard this year.
  12. Dusted Magazine
    80
    The results may not be as jarring as its predecessor - the excitement of their original experimentation is gone - but ultimately they’re more satisfying, indicative of a duo much more comfortable with their vision.
  13. Urb
    80
    Electronic pop rarely sounds this beautiful and human. [Sep 2006, p.136]
    All this publication's reviews
  14. Billboard
    80
    This release is comparable to 2004's stunning "Last Exit" in that every song has its own merits yet feels part of a greater whole.
  15. AllMusic
    80
    Jeremy Greenspan and Matt Didemus depart completely from 2-step and late-'90s Timbaland twitter, polishing their sound to such an extent that absolutely no detectable scuffs are left.
  16. PopMatters
    80
    So This is Goodbye is even more measured and meticulous than Last Exit, but so skilled a songwriting team Greenspan and Didemus have become, that every carefully-planned note packs a wallop, the starkness continuing to masterfully mask some of the most soulful Canadian music to come out in years.
  17. Lost At Sea
    80
    Furnished with seductive melodies, dry beats, translucent tonality and a variety of bouncing electronic arpeggios, So This Is Goodbye is filled with pure synth-pop oxygen.
  18. Prefix Magazine
    80
    So This Is Goodbye displays an impressive maturation on the part of Junior Boys leading man Jamie Greenspan.
  19. Q Magazine
    80
    Here Greenspan takes a more direct approach, showcasing his feel for melody and melancholy to brilliant effect. [Oct 2006, p.125]
    All this publication's reviews
  20. Vibe
    80
    The Boys make earnest, delicate and occasionally gloomy synth-pop, but they want the pain to be danceable. [Nov 2006, p.161]
    All this publication's reviews
  21. Tiny Mix Tapes
    80
    In the end, Junior Boys' improved skills at constructing pop songs within their fantastic sonic template is more than enough to make So This Is Goodbye one of my favorite releases of 2006 so far.
  22. Los Angeles Times
    75
    In the 1980s, artists such as Bronski Beat and David Sylvian used a similar sonic palette. But there's a distance to Greenspan's perfectly constructed grooves and well-modulated lyrics that falls somewhere between ironic and mournful.
  23. BBC collective
    70
    Heartfelt but sometimes overly polite.
  24. Village Voice
    70
    Junior Boys' brand of synthpop can't help sounding rooted in the '80s, and with Scritti Politti and thePet Shop Boys recently resurfacing to scratch the same itch, there may be no burning need for what Manitobans Jeremy Greenspan and Matthew Didemus do. Which doesn't mean they don't do it well.
  25. Uncut
    70
    It's a beautiful record. [Oct 2006, p.112]
    All this publication's reviews
  26. ShakingThrough.net
    68
    The Boys are still presenting themselves as an emotionally sensitive duo, but the smoothness pulls the urgency out of some of their problems.

Awards & Rankings

89
#89 Best Album of 2006
74
#74 Most Shared Album of 2006

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 37 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 37
  3. Negative: 3 out of 37
  1. LeeB.
    Oct 28, 2007
    10
    Simply an amazing record. Top to bottom the record shines. Definitely the best record of 2006, without a doubt in my mind. The songs are Simply an amazing record. Top to bottom the record shines. Definitely the best record of 2006, without a doubt in my mind. The songs are tremendous in both their subtleties and minimalistic change, and Greenspan's vocals just hit you where it hurts. Truly beautiful, a must buy.… Full Review »
  2. MycroftW.
    Aug 10, 2007
    10
    No doubt, if you buy one record from 2006, make sure it's this one
  3. bobbyk
    Mar 1, 2007
    9
    Syth-pop perfection. An aside: why Spin is still considered relevant, especially on Metacritic is beyond me.
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