Presently, I find myself blissfully obsessed with the track  Hazel off of Junior Boys' new album, Begone Dull Care. It's the kind of blue-eyed digital funk that makes me want to quit my day job and become the globe-trotting DJ I've always dreamed of becoming. It's the kind of jam that makes a full-grown Caucasian male spontaneously pop, lock and flail with moves that generally are attributed to teenaged girls.

I make note of this track because it's exceptional from the remainder of Begone Dull Care, which can mean different things depending on your fancy. "Hazel" isn't a remarkably uptempo track, but it's definitely the most danceable part of an album that otherwise relies on slower, building rhythms and mellow, warm synth chords. The album is more like what would happen if Chromeo's albums didn’t come with a cocaine prescription, or if Daft Punk exclusively made jams like "Make Love" and "Something About Us."

So this isn't a Friday night album end to end, but who says electropop needs to be? The vocals are lush, warm and introverted. Subdued, floating melodies abound. The slack-key solo on the outro of  Bits and Pieces is classic and perhaps the first use of such an instrument in electropop.  Sneak A Picture is a grinding, falsettoed slow track that wouldn't be complete with some mellow sax for punctuation.

The album is a solid followup to 2006's critically-acclaimed So This Is Goodbye that tends to lean more towards the "Like A Child" side of Junior Boys than the rugged "In The Morning." It's an enjoyable album and I'll be interested to see how the songs translate on their current tour. Needless to say, if Junior Boys need a male dancer/model for the "Hazel" music video, I know of a choice applicant for the job.

Recommended Tracks:
 Parallel Lines
 Sneak A Picture