Last Exit (Junior Boys album)

Last Exit
Studio album by Junior Boys
Released June 7, 2004 (UK)
September 21, 2004 (USA)
Genre Alternative dance, indietronica
Length 53:26
Label Domino Records (USA)
KIN Records (UK)
Junior Boys chronology

Last Exit
(2004)		 So This Is Goodbye
(2006)
Singles from Last Exit
  1. "Birthday"
    Released: October 20, 2003
  2. "High Come Down"
    Released: February 2004
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 89/100
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic link
Pitchfork Media 8.9 link
PopMatters very positive link
Rolling Stone (28 Oct 2004, p.100)
Tiny Mix Tapes link
Uncut (Jul 2004, p.102)
URB (Jul/Aug 2004, p.125)

Last Exit is the critically acclaimed debut studio album of Canadian electronic music group Junior Boys. It was released in 2004 on Domino Records in the U.S. and on KIN Records in the UK. The album was promoted by two singles: "Birthday" and "High Come Down."

The U.S. release contains a bonus disc adding songs previously only available on their EPs.

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews upon its release. It holds a Metacritic score of 89, indicating "universal acclaim."[1] Writing for Pitchfork, Scott Plagenhoef praised the album for its "deceptively simple and very approachable tracks" and remarked that songwriter Jeremy Greenspan was able "to fold elements of nearly a quarter-century of forward-looking pop into a distinct sound without sounding either conceptual or trading on contradictions or the smoke-and-mirrors of attention-grabbing eclecticism."[2] PopMatters' Adrien Begrand called it "a warm, friendly, entirely accessible pop album."[3]

The song "Teach Me How to Fight" ranked at number 57 on Porcys' list of the best singles of 2000-2004,[4] as well as number 16 on Screenagers' list of the best songs of the 2000s.[5]

Publication Country Rank List
Cokemachineglow Canada 19 Albums of the Year
Eye Weekly 9 Albums of the Year
Magic France 10 Albums of the Year
Porcys Poland 4 Albums of the Year
22 Top 100 Albums from 2000-2004
7 Top 100 Albums of the 2000s
Screenagers 25 Albums of the Year
4 Top 100 Albums of the 2000s
B92 Serbia 16 Albums of the Year
CD Drome Spain 24 Albums of the Year
Mondosonoro 17 Albums of the Year
Rockdelux 21 Albums of the Year
Nöjesguiden Sweden 36 Albums of the Year
Sonic 16 Albums of the Year
The Guardian UK * 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die
No Ripcord 10 Albums of the Year
Rough Trade 57 Albums of the Year
Uncut 15 Albums of the Year
AllMusic USA * Albums of the Year
Left Off the Dial 14 Albums of the Year
Pitchfork 28 Albums of the Year
76 Top 200 Albums of the 2000s
PopMatters 26 Albums of the Year
Prefix 49 Albums of the Year
Stylus 4 Albums of the Year
26 The 50 Best Albums of 2000-2004
47 Top 100 Albums of the 2000s
Treble 133 Top 150 Albums of the 2000s
The Village Voice 41 Albums of the Year

*denotes an unordered list

Track listing

  1. "More Than Real" (Johnny Dark, Jeremy Greenspan) – 6:39
  2. "Bellona" (Dark, Greenspan) – 5:38
  3. "High Come Down" (Dark, Greenspan) – 4:29
  4. "Last Exit" (Dark, Greenspan) – 6:35
  5. "Neon Rider" (Greenspan) – 2:08
  6. "Birthday" (Dark, Greenspan) – 4:16
  7. "Under the Sun" (Matt Didemus, Greenspan) – 7:02
  8. "Three Words" (Greenspan) – 5:46
  9. "Teach Me How to Fight" (Greenspan) – 5:31
  10. "When I'm Not Around" (Greenspan) – 5:22

US bonus disc

  1. "Unbirthday" – 6:04
  2. "Last Exit (Fennesz mix)" (Dark, Greenspan) – 5:35
  3. "Birthday (Manitoba mix)" (Dark, Greenspan) – 5:12
  4. "A Certain Association" – 2:22

References

  1. ↑ "Critic Reviews for Last Exit". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  2. ↑ Plagenhoef, Scott (15 June 2004). "Junior Boys: Last Exit". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media Inc. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  3. ↑ Begrand, Adrien (13 October 2004). "Junior Boys: Last Exit". PopMatters. PopMatters Media, Inc. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "100 Singles 2000-2004". Porcys. Porcys Media. 11 July 2005. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "Podsumowanie dekady". Screenagers. Retrieved 9 April 2015.