Customer Reviews

Last Exit (Bonus CD)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I heard Last Exit for the first time about a month ago at a friend's house. I say with confidence that this is the first album in years that had me craving it so badly mere hours after hearing it, I made a special trip to the record store at 9PM in order to have it in my possession permanently.

A month later, I'm still listening to the album almost every day (on repeat), and find myself experiencing withdrawal symptoms after a couple of days of not hearing it. It's at the same time sexy, elusive, relaxing and energizing. "High Come Down" is the first track that really got my attention. Its slow motion, sweaty dancefloor feel suggests early Timbaland-produced, drum-and-bass-like pops and beats. The lyrics urge "When I see you/You make my high come down/And I want to/See you shake this whole d**n crowd." Jeremy Greenspan sings with such a sense of anticipation, you hold your breath, wanting nothing but the same.

The pace of the album is well-crafted. Shifting between the pleasant, Royksopp-ish feel of songs like "More Than Real" and "Bellona" to hot, head-swaying tracks like "When I'm Not Around" and "Birthday", to melancholy and almost urgent melodic phrases in "Teach Me How to Fight" and "Under the Sun", Last Exit is at once polished and organic. These songs are consistent, yet blips and beeps come at perfectly unexpected times to keep you on your toes without ever feeling jarred awake.

This is one of those rare albums that fits a variety of moods in its entirety. It's party music, bed music, headphone music and morning music in one genius collection.

For those who are unsure about this CD, the closest that I can come to describing it would be if you took Depeche Mode when they were recording Violator and then gave them large doses of Valium. It is definitely not a CD to play when you fighting to get your energy up. This CD will be perfect for me when it is minus 30 at night and I am wearing headphones out walking the dog and the snow is gently falling all around me. It will be warming me up inside out. Really...what I am trying to get at is this is definitely a moody CD. If you are looking to be put into a certain relaxed state of mind, then this is for you. If you are already in that state of mind and want to enhance it, then this is for you.

It is a more mature, more ambient Postal Service (who I like very much.)

I highly recommend Last Exit. Is it the best CD this year?.....ummm no. Is it close? Yes. If you go to amazon.ca, you can listen to the snippets and decide for yourself. I am extremely pleased I took the chance. Standout tracks are BELLONA, LAST EXIT, BIRTHDAY, UNDER THE SUN, TEACH ME HOW TO FIGHT and the entire bonus CD.

This CD is great. NME gave it 9/10 and I agree. But in the case I'll round up and give all 5 stars to them because I can't give 4.5. This is a great blend of interesting drum beats and melodic vocals. The music sounds very simplistic but is in-fact very complex. The CD does not vibe with everyone, some find it boring, but most everyone can't help but fall in love with this CD after a few listens. I think my favorite track is "Teach me how to Fight." That was the first song I heard and it blew me away. Well for anyone who loves very interesting drum machine beats with melodic vocals they should pick this one up.

Junior Boys' 2004 opus is a well-crafted electronic ride which takes you from dreamy vocals to trip-hop beats to soothing, chill-out melodies. It is one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year, and deservedly so. The soundscape is a lush masterpience of 10 extended tracks. Most of the cuts are quite mellow, but yet they still retain their own unique energy. My favorite is the title track. There's a particular sweetness to its sound, and the melody is exquisite. If you like wispy electronic music with some twists & turns and, most importantly, some depth and texture to the music, then look no further than 'Last Exit.'

This is the album that some of us have been waiting for for a while. We have been teased by Kenna, the Postal Service, and others in the meantime, but once again Canada has ultimately come through. The first two tracks nearly bring tears to my eyes. Wham, Depeche Mode, and just the freaking J. Boys damnit all come through.
This CD is the one. It has enough hooks to remind me of "Everything She Wants", enough scattershot beats to keep it on the level of the current laptop dance movement, and the iced over emotion to take me back to a much younger time, cutting the night like a razor in my cheap ass car hoping for something better, but that was the danger - and the oh so painful realization that perfection was never to be had. It's like Bernard Sumner, George Michael (and Andrew Ridgeley), and Timbaland got togetha for a jam. The best way for me to sum it us is: I didn't think that any electronic album would ever make me feel what this one did again. I thought the genre was on the decline, and I was wrong. Listen to it somewhere else b/c the streaming media on this site doesn't do it justice.

Excellent album - the use electronica style sounds and complex syncopated beats never detracts or sounds forced. The songs are often quite sparse and never over-produced with a lovely sprinkling of more conventional instruments here and there adds a warmer feeling when occasionally the album begins to sound a little cold. Last Exit is also a very tight album with no skippable moments (except Neon Rider maybe)and many excellent songs (including: more than real, high come down, birthday, three words and when i'm not around).

The music somehow holds a level of suspense and intrigue like it won't reveal everything. Quite innovative rhythms matched to affecting lyrics and great tunes and a gorgeous atmosphere makes me go all squiffy sometimes. One of those rare albums you feel like you inhabit - completely enveloped by it.

I have listened to this album a lot and it is still probably my favourite album of the last 2 years or so. Superb.

In fact, there's not a guitar to be found: soulful vocals, old-school synths and minimalist electronic beats work a wonderful kind of magic here. This is smoldering, sex-infused electro, that though sparse in terms of instrumentation, convey loads amount of vibe; chilled but with enough soulful groove to make you want to move. I could see this working any chic dance floor, moonlit drive, or lusty f*ck session perfectly. When so much dance music just sounds rehashed and dull, it's refreshing to come across an album that sounds as current and innovative as Last Exit, yet still manages to stay within familiar genre boundaries. Stuff like this actually leaves me feeling kind of optimistic about where electronic music is headed.

Decadently satisfying, glitchy dance pop that appeases much with the retro production and emotive vocals. This could have been a joke in less skilled hands, but this impressive debut from Junior Boys does deserve the praise it has received. While only appropriate in it's pseudosexy weirdo context, the album does remain a tightly constructed piece of emotional electropop, perhaps setting the standard that this emotric genre all you Postal Service guys were harking on. Although a few songs fall flat on the second half, almost every other track should, regardless of it's context, create an affectionate partnership with that won't soon be forgotten.

I first heard "Birthday" with a friend in his truck. It was amazing. Then I bought the album. I got it today. I listened to it 4 times. It is crazy. Nothing like it. The Postal Service is awesome. But these guys are freaking great. While the Postal Service uses lyrics to show their feelings with great electronic sounds. Junior Boys use electronic sounds to show their feelings with great lyrics. Just buy it.

After listening to "So This Is Goodbye" and "Begone Dull Care", I realized that this debut feels like a preparation for them. Don't get me wrong, I really like their work; the problem is the difference of quality between this debut and the other albums: It's slow paced, experimental and sometimes cheesy, plus the Rhythms are often broken and irregular, which can be good for someone who fancies different sonorities (or the lack of them!). My advice is: listen to the other albums, they are excellent. This one has it's moments, but not enough to be memorable.