Basement Jaxx

Junto

BY Vincent PollardPublished Aug 22, 2014

7
It's been five years since the UK duo of Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton gave us a new album, but Junto is worth the wait. To fans of Basement Jaxx, Junto (meaning "together" in Spanish) is exactly what you would expect, and want, from the party-starting, fun-loving DJs — accessible, feel-good house anthems tailor-made for summer. With song titles like "Power To The People," "We Are Not Alone" and "Love Is At Your Side," Junto brims with positivity, with several nods to the spiritual and the cosmic.

As per Jaxx tradition, the majority of the album's tracks are built around upbeat, hook-laden melodies from mostly unknown and up-and-coming singers, exceptions being the inclusion of Toronto resident DJ Sneak on "Sneakin' Toronto" and NYC rapper/performance artist Mykki Blanco on the darker, jungle-tinged "Buffalo." Junto is yet another solid album of party anthems to — as promised in "Unicorn" — "get your body jumpin'" this Summer.
(Atlantic Jaxx/PIAS America)

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