Junior Senior 'D-D-Don't Stop the Beat' album

Meet Junior Senior, an unmistakable duo from the Jutland countryside of Northern Denmark, currently preparing for a full-scale invasion of your personal headspace. Together the pair have formed a unique bonding and shaped a sound that looks set to send frenzied shockwaves to dancefloors worldwide, simultaneously staking Denmark on the European pop map.

"P-P-Put my record on and all your troubles are dead and gone.." Move Your Feet

First there's Junior; sensitive blue eyed soul boy, songwriting champ, vinyl hoarder, lady-killer and guitar demon par excellence. Then there's Senior, the larger than life, slightly older, effortlessly charismatic front man, permanently clad in sun-visor with intent whilst searching for the man of his dreams. Okay, so it might not take rocket science to work out the motivation behind their 'nom de plume', but it does act as a suitably apt metaphor for their partnership. And besides 'Little and Large' doesn't have quite the same 'je n'est ce quoi'.

'D-D-Don't Don't Stop The Beat' is an album of many surprises. Simply un-wrap its neon packaging and inside you'll find an evangelical pop soul punk record of the finest order, layered with infectious melodies, strident blazing guitar licks and beautiful empowering harmonies that will only help to restore your faith in the power of rock'n'roll. Its components comprise of ten modern tales of Scandinavian joy, that thankfully lie a million more times Motown than O-Town. That's right, Junior Senior are a unique force, because 1) They actually love music, old music too, and 2) they can knowingly interpret, reinvent and contextualise these influences, mix them up, shake and stir them into one potent contemporary brew of sonic exultation 2003 style....

Their broad influences range from the Cramps, B52's, through Lamont Dozier and the varying soul and garage sounds of Detroit to the classic British indie sound of the 90's... oh and let us not forget err Senior's idolisation of cult moustachioed actor Burt Reynolds. The musician grew up on a diet of German Pop compilations, before branching out into the worlds of hip-hop, dance and beyond. Meanwhile Junior explains that "Denmark is very different. We didn't have the same sounds growing up as countries like the UK. I hadn't heard of the Velvet Underground, my parents didn't have those kind of records and most magazines here didn't write about them. I didn't know what soul was. At the time all my friends were listening to Bryan Adams 'Waking Up The Neighbourhood', but then I stumbled upon articles about J Mascis and Dinosaur Jr in a Guitar magazine, referring to all their beautiful guitars, and when I heard their music it made me think there was something else out there."

It hasn't always been easy...It took four years for Junior Senior's rock'n'roll adventure to gain this much momentum. Indeed, the band even contemplated splitting before being signed to cult Danish label, Crunchy Frog home to other buzz native acts like The Raveonettes, Superheroes and The Tremolo Beer Gut. Thankfully it was meant to be, and Junior Senior have blossomed into one of the most unique bands you will ever come across.

Their debut album has brought them attention from record labels, publishers, the Danish media, even celebrities - the band count the odd pairing of Fatboy Slim and the B-52s as fans, and most importantly of all, from the legions of fans, who have bought their records and who regularly go to see their live shows...And yes, Junior's attention comes from the girls while Senior courts attention from the boys. "That's maybe one of the reasons why he started to make music in the first place, to create a crazy way to meet boys," laughs Junior. "Musically we just try to describe what is going on in our lives, and what happens to us," he adds. Live the band are a different prospect, like stepping into a church, where Senior commands the congregation with the power of a lay preacher, and junior drops hot guitar rocks at their feet, creating a unified dance phenomenon that has to be seen to be believed.

"We had a vision of what we wanted to achieve. We definitely had a feeling we could do something that no one else was doing, especially here in Denmark. We don't sound like any other band. In 1998 all the bands here wanted to sound like Radiohead's 'Ok Computer' album. We just wanted to be us." says Senior. "A lot of white people try and make soul music and it sounds really slick, we just want to do it with balls."

In their debut single 'Move Your Feet', Junior Senior have a song so painlessly addictive, that soon it should be available on prescription to soothe all worldly woes. Featuring the additional vocal dynamics of Thomas Troelsen, singer with label mates Superheroes, its "Everybody, move your feet and feel united," refrain will stick around amidst your grey matter for years to come.

Its accompanying animated video, courtesy of award winning designers Shynola (Radiohead/Unkle) has already begun to go into stellar rotation overdrive in the UK, where the single has been in the top 10 sales chart for a record nine consecutive weeks and is starting to get major airplay in the US. It is without question the catchiest ditty you will hear all summer, nee year for that matter. The track has already won fans in clubland, including Norman Cook, who has been spinning the track since he was handed a white label at March's Winter Music Conference in Miami.

Elsewhere your fix is fed in the form of tracks like 'Chicks And Dicks,' a playful tongue in cheek stab at gender politics, and their own sexual preferences that builds into a triumphant pounding crescendo, reminiscent of a quantum leap to a 1950's prom night gone electro. Whilst on 'Boy Meets Girl' we see Junior take sole control of the mic, with remarkable results. He tears up the pop rulebook by rattling out a blissful psychedelic glam stomper. "You came for my body, but left with my soul," he spits, over a wired blues rawwwk number. 'Just Shake It Brother' takes the listener to the chambers of old style soul where gospel dynamics are layered with punky garage guitars. Meanwhile future smash number two entitled 'Dynamite' has the savvy of a sixties pop classic, all lushly filtered harmonies, as J&S tag-team you with their unique dual lyrical flow. On the album closer 'White Trash', some of their inspirations are pulled into the mix. Nancy & Lee, Sonny & Cher, the New York Dolls and Joey Ramone all receive suitable name-checks in a blitzing thrashing finale to one of the most refreshing and interesting debut albums of recent times.

D-D-Don't Don't Stop The Beat. - Junior Senior have arrived.

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Junior Senior - D-D-Don't Stop the Beat