One of the great things with a lot of the press releases we get from Knyvet (Again, follow all the artists on their roster if you know what’s good for you? Well, not as menacing as that but you get what we mean… right???) is that when promoting a new single from an artist, 9 times out of 10 it’s a prelude to an album or EP that’s due supah soon (That’s a technical industry term, btw) which is also great because if we miss covering a tune (Read: 99.9% life gets in the way on our part) then we can just jump on ahead and get started on what’s next. Like right now! While we did get to Today Junior’s divine “Keep On Pushing Me” track we were a little bummed, as Old School Universal Monsters lovers, that we missed covering “Werewolves of Boston” last month. But again! Supah soon! And full on Rekkid! Because Stranger Days which is on the way imminently.
Opener “If You Want To” is celebratory and anthemic, heralding the abundance of Rawk that’s headed your way in the most glorious fashion. It’s like a mix of Black Taxi and The Cast Of Cheers (Both bands that you should look up NOW) and this clashing of NYC-style Post-Rawk (Interpol meets The Strokes for a more specific reference) with the mid-Aughts Dance/Art Rawk revival. “Coastlines” is vibrant and vivid and the kind of track that you hear and can just picture the video treatment of the band cruising along a stretch of road, top down, sunglasses on, sun shining and the titular scenic view just on the horizon. The band in question then takes the song in fascinating directions and to this moment when Mike O’Toole’s Drumming and Jonathan Hislop’s Bass work just lock the eff in followed by Harry O’Toole’s angular Guitar licks and serene Vocals.
The title track eases into grooves and vibes with this harmonious hum that just emanates throughout the track with O’Toole’s soothing Vocals in a trance-like state with the aforementioned monster song (That features Hannah Blauner on Bass and Backing Vox), “Werewolves of Boston” (Not a Bean Town take on the Warren Zevon classic but still works if you’d like to belt out the chorus and insert “Boston” over “London”), riling everything up again with a powerful Pop-leaning Alternative anthem that works just as great whether you’re from the area or not.
Previous single “Keep On Pushing Me” is even more iconic sounding within the Stranger Days framework, sporting an effervescent energy from the start with “From the Sun” shining bright as well and driven by a Surf Rawk-ish aesthetic. “Wide Awake” is just awesome and is at a point of the record where Today Junior just really hit their stride where song after song tops what came before. Our own personal anthem (Not intentionally), “Procrastinate” is a robust riposte between O’Toole’s Guitars and the Hislop/O’Toole Drum/Bass match-up followed by “So Long” which is buoyant and unapologetically whimsical to the very end.
Stranger Days is unleashed on September 4th and you can prepare now by heading here to pre-save or by bookmarking the BC stream below to get the record as soon as it drops. For more from Today Junior, including all the info on their double release show at O’Brien’s with BAABES that also features Dr. Vet & The Dead Pets on September 19th (Advance tix here), hit the trail of socials across the information superhighway by clicking here, here or here.