Junkie XL
Saturday Teenage Kick
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Junkie XL
Saturday Teenage Kick
Roadrunner, 1998
RiYL: Prodigy, Massive Attack, Sneaker Pimps |
Junkie XL's basic electronic and ambient beats relax when vocals or guitars break into the tracks. As the vocals near completion on "Metrolike," the beats slowly rise up and kick in right as the singing raps start to fade out. Junkie XL has incorporated rap into its game plan with ease but doesn't push the other music aside.
"X-panding Limits" features a slurred rap backed by electronically-enhanced record scratches that distort into a guitar sound at times and high-pitched beeps at others. This combination of distinctly different sounds is what Junkie XL thrives on with every track.
Album opener "Under-achievers" utilizes fuzzed guitars as its main musical focus, while the next track, "Billy Club," highlights the celebrated loop and sample of modern electronic music. Neither sounds similar to the rest of the album's tunes, but an underlying funkiness remains throughout Saturday Teenage Kick.
Junkie XL's hype might be a little premature, but in a genre where bands vanish faster than you can say "Firestarter,"the group boasts an uncommon maturity. The Junkie XL sound won't instantly hook listeners, but it is strangely alluring to those willing to give in to the media's peer pressure.
DAVID THOMAS |