D-d-don't Stop The Beat

On "White Trash," Junior Senior says it wants to sing like Nancy Sinatra, play like Stevie Wonder, and "show [it] has balls" like the New York Dolls, ambitions that would be more ridiculous if they didn't so accurately describe the Danish band's sound. Just as their Swedish counterparts, the Cardigans, once built clever pop songs on elements of bubblegum and lounge, Junior Senior makes dance music by mashing together disco, Prince-style electro-funk, '60s psychedelia, and garage rock. The results are goofy but undeniably exhilarating. D-D-Don't Don't Stop the Beat clocks in at a frenetic 32 minutes, leaving listeners little time to notice that its lyrics lack the jaded sophistication of the Cardigans' First Band on the Moon. "Come on in, hang your coats/Eat our chips, we've got loads" is a typical sentiment, and most of the songs seem to be about the fact that pint-sized mastermind Junior is into girls, while the giant Senior prefers boys. In other words, this stuff isn't likely to make you any smarter, but then, you don't need smarts to "shake your coconuts." You just need willing coconuts, though a giddy day-glo masterpiece like D-D-Don't Don't Stop the Beat helps a lot. ~ Daniel Browne|