sat 02/11/2024

Album: Juniore - Trois, Deux, Un | reviews, news & interviews

Album: Juniore - Trois, Deux, Un

Album: Juniore - Trois, Deux, Un

Parisian trio showcase an elegant if deliberate retro-futurist garage-pop

Juniore's 'Trois, Deux, Un': about more than the Gallic ecosphere

Although it takes seconds to discern that Juniore are French, a core inspiration appears to be the echoing surf-pop instrumentals of Californian studio band The Marketts, whose 1963 single "Out of Limits" became their most well-known track. Add in – exemplified by Trois, Deux, Un’s fifth and sixth tracks “Amour fou” and “Grand voyageur” – the languid atmosphere of the early Françoise Hardy and the result is a form of Gallic retro-futurist garage-pop.

Juniore are a Paris-based three piece and Trois, Deux, Un is their third album. There is more to this musical bricolage than the two most evident touchstones: “Dans le dos” dips into Phil Spector territory with its castanets and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” descending melody. “Voilà voilà” has a touch of “Big City”-era Spacemen 3. It is clear Juniore know their music, know what they are aiming for and are aware of exactly what it is they are doing. Those deadpan talk-sung vocals aren’t arrived at spontaneously.

In the Francophone world, Trois, Deux, Un does not exist in a creative vacuum. Some of the early Melody’s Echo Chamber was along these lines. And back in the Eighties, Belgium’s Antena (sic) – were they shorn of the Bossa Nova touches – weren’t dissimilar, In France, Benjamin Biolay has also skirted this territory. But this is about more than the Gallic ecosphere. With the elegant Trois, Deux, Un, Juniore are reaching out to anyone with a yen for the cool and the refined; anyone yearning for a fresh take on the archetypal.

@MrKieronTyler

With the elegant 'Trois, Deux, Un', Juniore are reaching out to anyone with a yen for the cool and the refined

rating

Editor Rating: 
3
Average: 3 (1 vote)

Share this article

Add comment

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters