Since their inception with the Birthday/Last Exit EP in 2003, Junior Boys have always succeeded on the strength of their three-pronged approach. First and foremost is the icy cool delivery of singer Jeremy Greenspan, which floats somewhere in the vast expanse between Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon and Jordon Hossack of Calgary’s favourite Martians, Azeda Booth. These whispers are sleekly soundtracked by their simultaneously futuristic and retro-fashioned beats, made up of clicks and clacks, frosty baths of digital synths and a combination of club stompers and kraut-rock.

The final feathers in the Canadians’ caps are their evocative lyrics — a relative rarity in the synth-pop realm. Last Exit’s title track, which may or may not be about kidnapping someone in a car, is a particularly strong example, but there are several notable quotables on Begone Dull Care as well. “I see you better when the lights are out” leaps out immediately, especially when heard in the context of the dancefloor-ready “Bits & Pieces.” Plus, it raises an interesting question: are people at their most truthful when they’re cutting loose? It’s just too bad the song includes those wallpaper saxophones, verging on Kenny G.

First single “Hazel” is the band’s attempt at repeating past hit “In the Morning,” so ubiquitous in 2007 that it inspired a Hot Chip remix, a cringe-inducing music video and even played on So You Think You Can Dance? It’s the first time on Begone Dull Care that Greenspan really gets a chance to let his freak flag fly, with a Prince-inspired pterodactyl squawk as the song transitions into roller-skate disco. Sadly, there’s nothing here as distinctive as that smashing synth hook on “In the Morning,” which came courtesy of Mouse on Mars’ Andi Toma.

Sadder still, this feeling of mediocrity prevails throughout the majority of Begone Dull Care, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that it finds the band aiming squarely at pop accessibility instead of patiently allowing their songs to percolate and then explode, as in the past. It’s still an ear-pleasing listen, just far too predictable. Throwing everything they have at the target to see if it sticks (including violins on “The Animator” and banjos on “Dull to Care”), the Junior Boys have finally become what they’ve tried so hard not to be: stereotypical CanCon.