When it comes to boy-girl pop duos, there’s a dangerous line between annoyingly twee and perfectly poppy. Jonesin’ straddles that line throughout their album Hi, We’re Jonesin’ and never quite crosses into either territory.
The spacey “Too Stoned to Screw” offers a hazy swirling soundscape, while “Bummer Summer” is a beach song for the sad-sack needing a boost.
Jonesin’s mission statement is clear: to evoke the weird moments of childhood. One of the hallmarks of Hi, We’re Jonesin’ are the bubbly, ebullient synths with complementary cutesy lyrics like “When you finally fell into my arms/it set off so many alarms/from that day onward I’ve been true,” on “Rollerskates.” Campfire singalongs like “Ghosts! No Way!” are warm-hearted and adorable, while “Ice Cream” is the soundtrack to the mad dash to grab a frozen treat from the ice cream delivery truck.
Hi, We’re Jonesin’ is utterly, unabashedly adorable and the miserable need not listen — they’ll find Jonesin’s infectious childlike glee more akin to anthrax.