Junior Boys Begone Dull Care Review

Junior Boys' third album Begone Dull Care is an efficient, sleek album that has acres of atmosphere but too little soul.

Jeremy Greenspan and Matthew Didemus are skilled craftsmen when it comes to superior background music, as is evident right from album opener Parallel Lines (no overt reference to the Blondie record of the same name). Greenspan's richly funky voice adds some life to the brooding Depeche Mode tone, which suits a subdued lyric about, ''Odds, ends'' and ''final laments''.

Work swiftly follows: another steadily paced effort that recalls Underworld's brilliant production on the 2007 album, Oblivion With Bells, but never really fires the imagination. Dull To Pause, meanwhile, is asking for it with a title like that. Its longing tone and ''I don’t wanna share you'' lyric add little to the obsessive love sub-genre of pop.

Lead single and album standout Hazel is a better, more cheerful affair and throbs lewdly, like a sleazy relative of Chromeo's Bonafied Lovin'.

Sneak A Picture is more indicative of Begone Dull Care's trouble. It's a decent soundtrack to Saturday afternoon clothes shopping with an eye on the evening's entertainment, but not a song listeners will care to hear while they're getting said clothes covered in sweat and club grime.

What's It For rounds off the album in a hazy, romantic fashion, perhaps owing to Didemus's recent marriage. ''Women like you know what to say, women like you no when you shouldn’t stay'', go the lyrics, but musically the song is a slighter, contemporary take on The Style Council's Long Hot Summer.

There's nothing awful on this album, it's more that superior background music is already made by the likes of Zero 7, Lemon Jelly and Mr Scruff.

Listeners who just want to dance are better off waiting for the forthcoming Basement Jaxx record or checking out recent gems from Thunderheist and Röyksopp.