So This Is Goodbye

So This is Goodbye is the second studio album by Canadian electronic music group Junior Boys. It was first released by Domino Recording Company on August 22, 2006 in Canada, and on September 11, 2006 in other territories. Junior Boys, now solely comprising the duo of Jeremy Greenspan and Matthew Didemus following the departure of founding member Johnny Dark, recorded the album in Hamilton, Ontario and wrote much of the album's material, with the exception of a cover of the Frank Sinatra song "When No One Cares".

So This Is Goodbye
Studio album by Junior Boys
Released	August 22, 2006
Genre	Synth-pop[1]
Length	48:58
Label	Domino
Producer	Junior Boys
Junior Boys chronology
Last Exit (2004) So This Is Goodbye (2006) The Dead Horse EP (2007)
Singles from So This Is Goodbye
"In the Morning" Released: July 11, 2006

So This Is Goodbye was shortlisted for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize.[2][3][4] On June 5, 2007, Junior Boys released So This Is Goodbye as a special edition featuring the original album along with a bonus CD.[5]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
The A.V. Club	A−[8]
The Boston Phoenix	[9]
The Guardian	[10]
Los Angeles Times	[11]
NME	7/10[12]
Pitchfork	9.0/10[13]
Q	[14]
Rolling Stone	[15]
URB	[16]

So This Is Goodbye was released to positive reviews from music critics, holding a score of 79 out of 100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6] Noel Murray of The A.V. Club wrote that Junior Boys "hold to a style that's danceable but purposefully dry", adding that their "emphasis on the aloof and mechanical doesn't diminish their feeling for how humans relate to technology".[8] Mark Pytlik of Pitchfork hailed it as "among the best records you'll hear all year", writing that in spite of Junior Boys' departure from the "rhythmic capriciousness" of their debut Last Exit in favor of more "comparatively streamlined song structures", the album "draws out so many of the same sensations and colors that it feels like a natural next step".[13] Andy Kellman of AllMusic noted the prominence of "slowly unfurling material that projects a cool sense of comfort", as well as a "semi-subliminal undercurrent of self-deprecation that carries through most of the album" in its lyrics.[7] In the Los Angeles Times, Ann Powers wrote that Greenspan explores themes of desire with an "uncommon delicacy", while observing a "distance to Greenspan's perfectly constructed grooves and well-modulated lyrics that falls somewhere between ironic and mournful."[11]

In a mixed review, Dom Passantino of The Guardian called So This Is Goodbye "pretty, if sterile", while nonetheless concluding that "despite their lack of heart, there's no reason Junior Boys shouldn't be able to survive."[10] Spin's Michaelangelo Matos was far more critical, writing that the album suffered from the absence of former member Johnny Dark's "rhythmic contributions" and, with the exception of "In the Morning", "turns the pathos of [Last Exit] into nearly intolerable bathos".[17]

Accolades

Resident Advisor named So This Is Goodbye as the third best album of 2006,[18] while Pitchfork ranked it the eleventh best album of the year.[19] Resident Advisor later named it the 45th best album of the decade.[20] As of March 2016, Acclaimed Music, a site which aggregates hundreds of critics' lists from around the world into an all-time ranking, lists the album as the 1133rd most acclaimed of all-time.[21]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Junior Boys (Matt Didemus and Jeremy Greenspan), except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Double Shadow"		4:22
2.	"The Equalizer"		4:57
3.	"First Time"		5:26
4.	"Count Souvenirs"		4:45
5.	"In the Morning"	Junior Boys Andi Toma	4:42
6.	"So This Is Goodbye"		5:19
7.	"Like a Child"		6:06
8.	"Caught in a Wave"		3:39
9.	"When No One Cares"	Sammy Cahn Jimmy Van Heusen	3:49
10.	"FM"		5:53
Total length:			48:58

Special edition bonus disc

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Like a Child" (Carl Craig Remix)		10:41
2.	"In the Morning" (Hot Chip Remix)	Junior Boys Toma	9:46
3.	"FM" (Tensnake Remix)		7:19
4.	"The Equalizer" (Morgan Geist Remix)		5:58
5.	"In the Morning" (Alex Smoke Remix)	Junior Boys Toma	7:16
6.	"Double Shadow" (Kode9 Remix)		6:30
7.	"FM" (Marsen Jules Remix)		5:13
8.	"The Equalizer" (iTunes Session)		4:59
9.	"Under the Sun" (iTunes Session)		7:05
10.	"FM" (iTunes Session)		5:40
11.	"When No One Cares" (iTunes Session)	Cahn Van Heusen	4:19
Total length:			74:46

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[22]	38
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[23]	49
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[24]	40
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[25]	10

References

1. "Junior Boys: So This Is Goodbye". Vibe: 161. November 2006.
2. "Arcade Fire, Feist on Polaris short list". CBC News. July 10, 2007. Retrieved July 10, 2007.
3. "Feist, Fire get Polaris noms". Jam!. Archived from the original on June 23, 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2007.
4. Love, Noah (July 10, 2007). "Arcade Fire, Feist And The Dears Among Polaris Nominees". Chart. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
5. "Junior Boys — So This Is Goodbye (Special Edition Featuring Bonus CD)". Boomkat.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2009. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
6. "Reviews for So This Is Goodbye by Junior Boys". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
7. Kellman, Andy. "So This Is Goodbye – Junior Boys". AllMusic. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
8. Murray, Noel (September 26, 2006). "Junior Boys: So This Is Goodbye". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
9. Moerder, Adam (September 11, 2006). "Junior Boys". The Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
10. Passantino, Dom (September 8, 2006). "Junior Boys, So This Is Goodbye". The Guardian. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
11. Powers, Ann (September 19, 2006). "From private to public". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
12. Naylor, Tony (July 3, 2007). "Junior Boys: So This Is Goodbye". NME. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
13. Pytlik, Mark (August 10, 2006). "Junior Boys: So This Is Goodbye". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
14. "Junior Boys: So This Is Goodbye". Q (243): 125. October 2006.
15. Hoard, Christian (September 7, 2006). "Junior Boys: So This Is Goodbye". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 11, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
16. "Junior Boys: So This Is Goodbye". URB (139): 136. September–October 2006.
17. Matos, Michaelangelo (October 2006). "Junior Boys: So This Is Goodbye". Spin. 22 (10): 98–99. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
18. "RA Poll: Top 5 albums of 2006". Resident Advisor. December 18, 2006. Retrieved October 4, 2009.
19. "Staff Lists: Top 50 Albums of 2006". Pitchfork. December 19, 2006. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
20. "Top 100 albums of the '00s". Resident Advisor. January 25, 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
21. "Acclaimed Music". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
22. "Swedishcharts.com – Junior Boys – So This Is Goodbye". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
23. "Junior Boys Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
24. "Junior Boys Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
25. "Junior Boys Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 21, 2017.