It’s been four years since their last release, It’s All True, but Junior Boys made a booming return with Big Black Coat as if time doesn’t matter. Despite the break, which often causes bands to lose track of who they are, the duo maintained their original sound yet created a set of tracks that stand on their own. On Saturday, the band wrapped up their latest tour at Toronto’s Phoenix Concert Theatre.

“It’s good to be home,” chirped out frontman Jeremy Greenspan. While Toronto shows always make them nervous, he says, “Nothing puts you at ease more than playing 50 shows.” True to that statement, the show was smooth as butter. But before we get into the main act, let’s turn back to the support: Borys and Jessy Lanza.

The evening started on a heavy note with Edmonton’s Borys. Surrounded by a metal fence, he occupied a small space on the dance floor, dropping beat after beat – tracks that would light up a summer forest party on fire.

By definition, Borys makes music that “explores the darker corners of the dance floor using modular synthesis,” – the kind of music that requires glow sticks, lasers, and perhaps a bottle of Rev. An odd way to start off the night, but in some weird way, it totally worked.

With no specific set times in mind,  Jessy Lanza then took the stage with her drummer/singer Tori.

Lanza has come a long way since we met her in 2013 before her intimate set at the Garrison. Her fan base seems to be comprised of a younger and very enthusiastic crowd. Shouts of appreciation and declarations of love were consistent throughout Lanza’s set. It was clear that half of the room was friends of the bands, which only made for a more upbeat show.

Lanza’s setup is minimalist – herself, Tori, and a small table set up accented by an essential oil humidifier. The stage was swallowed by rainbow fog, which to no surprise worked well with the oil drifting off into the crowd.

By the time Junior Boys hit the stage, the audience was well warmed up and clearly stoked to see Jeremy and Matt. Enveloped by the same colorful fog, the duo performed tracks from Big Black Coat and favorites from So This Is Goodbye, including “Double Shadow,” “Count Souvenirs,” and “In The Morning“.

Chatting with the audience between tracks, Greenspan smoothly went from song to song for over an hour. He called out the original fans for “Birthday” (2004), shouting, “This one is for all of the old fuckers in the crowd.” The line was met with laughs and cheers: “Woohoo, play Birthday!”

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Jeremy Greenspan and Matt Didemus collaboration Junior Boys has been on a brief hiatus. The electro-pop pair haven’t released an album since 2011’s It’s All True, and have spent the last five years working on personal projects with other hot Canadian acts like Caribou and Jessy Lanza.

Hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, Greenspan and Didemus have been making music together for over a decade, delivering four full-length LPs and two EPs to favorable reception. Greenspan’s flirtatious and melodramatic vocals alongside the Boys’ unapologetically 80s-inspired synth lines helped craft a previously missing tight-knit groove in the Ontario electronic music scene. Junior Boys continue to remain relevant in a subgenre that has almost lost its mod edge.

The duo teased two singles late last year from their newest LP, Big Black Coat, helping to create a murmur for the album’s release early next month. Greenspan whispers to listeners on the title track, “everybody wants to be in your big black coat, everybody wants to have your style”, also expressing the complexity and intimacy that Junior Boys possess. They have a distinct signature style that might seem transparent and imitable, but their sound carries a weight like fine-quality leather or wool: heavy, deep, and rare.

Opener “You Say That” is cool and current, with a strong trap drum line rounding out the song.  A quick cough comes in at the end, potentially suggestive of the distinctly Ontarian vibe Junior Boys allude to: puff, puff, pass, anyone?

“C’mon Baby” implements a laid-back wobble bass, cooing the listener into a lull. The track is smooth like a velvet sheen, reminiscent of a song from a John Hughes movie. Their contemporary take on 80s synth pop is playful and passionate; Greenspan tells the listener, “I dreamed of you again last night” as the song builds. It ends crisp and clean with a dramatic halt of sound.

“M&P” uses distorted vocals and unexpected punches of synth during the chorus line — the track seems most unlike Junior Boys’ typical melodies, but it still fits snugly into the middle of the LP. “No One’s Business” is a short track that has Greenspan echoing soft musings into the listener’s ear with his delicate vocals; his voice mimics the movement of silk gliding against skin, soft to the touch.

Their cover of Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do For Love” bares almost no resemblance to the original, lyrics aside. But the arpeggiation and lush keys leading up to the chorus is magic. When Greenspan finally reaches “what you won’t do, do for love”, one can imagine it being 5 a.m. at a club, dancing with eyes closed, hands up, head back: a moment of pure bliss.

“Baby Don’t Hurt Me” is the album’s only slow jam, a track that could have easily been placed on Sofia Coppola’s Virgin Suicides soundtrack. It is quiet and melancholic, the melody enveloping the listener like a comfortable blanket.

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