Hey Hey My My Yo Yo

Album Review

Junior Senior's second album is a dour, measured affair that pits subdued instrumentation against introspective lyrics and restrained vocals. Now, you didn't believe that, did you? As with their debut, Hey Hey My My Yo Yo is a Technicolor blaze of maximalist glory packed with over-the-top vocals, nonsense lyrics, woozy performances and dancefloor ready summer jams. And handclaps, you can't forget those. Jeppe "Senior" Laursen's production leaves no room for subtly which is fine because Jesper "Junior" Mortensen's vocals have none. He's a classic shouter firmly rooted in the Fred Schneider tradition (which makes the Cindy Wilson/Kate Pierson sung "Take My Time" seem just right) and while the album relies as much on the guest vocals (from all three members of Le Tigre, Anna Køster and amazingly, Motown girl group the Velvelettes) as it does his, his exuberant sensibility fills the proceedings with unhinged joy. On the songs he doesn't lead, you can picture him shaking his stuff with a huge grin on his face as the tapes roll. The record is filled with songs that should be hits; "Can I Get, Get, Get" (with Le Tigre's J.D. on vocals) is a disco ball floor filler, "We R the Handclaps" is the Jackson 5 on helium, "I Like Music (W.O.S.B.") is wonderfully hooky, space age Northern soul. Really you could pick any song on the album for that list of highlights; the record is that strong. There are few bands on the scene in 2007 that are filled with such light-hearted love of music and life without even a slight trace of irony or fakery. Their heavenly mix of mix of giddy silliness, pop smarts and pop culture overload makes Hey Hey My My Yo Yo a fun-filled joyride from beginning to end.