Cinematographic

Album Review

They look for all the world like one more angsty emo band, and there certainly is plenty of emotion in the Junior Varsity's songwriting — the choruses tend to be big and cathartic, and the guitars tend to be big and dense, and the lyrics are earnest rather than cynical. But when the first song on the album begins with the line "Why don't we just subtract all that's in the abstract," you know you're dealing with something that's going to go just a little bit deeper than the usual unfocused anger at "this" and the usual screaming protestations of vulnerability. As rewarding as the lyrics turn out to be, though, you may find yourself being constantly distracted from them by the inventive and hooky arrangements: the tricky time changes and anthemic hooks of "Wünderdrug," the slightly goofy and subtly swinging "St. Louis," the blatantly jazzy and completely swinging title track (with horns!), and the brilliant power pop of "I Went Blind." There's an instrumental that prominently features cello and acoustic guitar — it's pretty and it technically impressive, but it feels like a distraction from the brilliance of the songs. Very highly recommended.