Last Exit
Studio album by
Junior Boys
ReleasedJune 7, 2004 (2004-06-07)
Genre
Length53:26
Label
ProducerJunior Boys
Junior Boys chronology
Last Exit
(2004)		 So This Is Goodbye
(2006)
Singles from Last Exit
  1. "Birthday"
    Released: November 20, 2003 (2003-11-20)
  2. "High Come Down"
    Released: February 2004 (2004-02)

Last Exit is the debut studio album by Canadian electronic music group Junior Boys. It was released on June 7, 2004 by KIN Records in the United Kingdom and on September 21, 2004 by Domino Recording Company in the United States. The album was promoted by two singles: "Birthday" and "High Come Down".

Last Exit received rave reviews from critics.[5] The United States release contains a bonus disc adding songs previously only available on their EPs.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic89/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Blender[7]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[8]
The Guardian[2]
NME9/10[9]
Pitchfork8.9/10[10]
Q[1]
Rolling Stone[4]
SpinA−[11]
Uncut[12]

Last Exit received highly positive reviews from music critics. The album holds a score of 89 out of 100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim".[5] 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."[10] Uncut wrote that "the contrast between romanticism and sonic daring, alien time signatures and freakishly pretty tunes, is irresistible."[12] The Guardian's Dorian Lynskey stated that Junior Boys' "spectral vision of electronic pop is an understated, unpredictable delight",[2] while PopMatters' Adrien Begrand called Last Exit "a warm, friendly, entirely accessible pop album."[13] Andy Kellman of AllMusic noted that the album's songs "can be enjoyed with or without all of the analysis and context" and praised the duo's "ability to be alluringly aloof".[6] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly called the album "prettily nostalgic (think New Order, Erasure, Bronski Beat) and gloriously right now."[8]

Accolades

The song "Teach Me How to Fight" ranked at number 57 on Porcys' list of the best singles of 2000-2004,[14] as well as number 16 on Screenagers' list of the best songs of the 2000s.[15]

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

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
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"Greenspan2:08
6."Birthday"
  • Dark
  • Greenspan
4:16
7."Under the Sun"
  • Matt Didemus
  • Greenspan
7:02
8."Three Words"Greenspan5:46
9."Teach Me How to Fight"
  • Didemus
  • Greenspan
5:31
10."When I'm Not Around"Greenspan5:22
Total length:53:26
US bonus disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Unbirthday"
  • Dark
  • Greenspan
6:04
2."Last Exit" (Fennesz Mix)
  • Dark
  • Greenspan
5:35
3."Birthday" (Manitoba Mix)
  • Dark
  • Greenspan
5:12
4."A Certain Association"
  • Didemus
  • Greenspan
2:22
Total length:19:13

References

  1. 1 2 "Junior Boys: Last Exit". Q (215): 98. June 2004.
  2. 1 2 3 Lynskey, Dorian (May 21, 2004). "Junior Boys, Last Exit". The Guardian. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  3. ↑ Pitchfork Staff (October 2, 2009). "The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 28, 2023. Greenspan did it by wrapping wistful words in some of the decade's most lovingly produced electro-pop...
  4. 1 2 Blashill, Pat (October 28, 2004). "Junior Boys: Last Exit". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 11, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "Reviews for Last Exit by Junior Boys". Metacritic. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Kellman, Andy. "Last Exit – Junior Boys". AllMusic. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Junior Boys: Last Exit". Blender (31): 136. November 2004.
  8. 1 2 Greenblatt, Leah (September 24, 2004). "Last Exit". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Junior Boys: Last Exit". NME: 41. July 31, 2004.
  10. 1 2 Plagenhoef, Scott (June 15, 2004). "Junior Boys: Last Exit". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Breakdown". Spin. 20 (11): 118. November 2004. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Ready To Depart". Uncut (86): 102. July 2004. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  13. ↑ Begrand, Adrien (October 13, 2004). "Junior Boys: Last Exit". PopMatters. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  14. ↑ "100 Singles 2000-2004". Porcys. Porcys Media. 11 July 2005. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  15. ↑ "Podsumowanie dekady". Screenagers. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
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