he Junction is, as far as one can tell, one of the few funk-meets-Britpop bands to come out of Brampton and Mississauga. Appearing like full-on rock stars in their formative years, Brent Jackson (guitar/vocals), Matt Jameson (bass) and Mike “Tip” Taylor (drums) are dangerously close to boy-band-eria - spindly, boyish, and currently shorthaired. But that's not irony, m’man. It is just easy-going incongruity.

The Junction trio are very careful not to appear ironic - their lyrics have had a smart editing down. The boys are also sincere about the riffs, not just the aforementioned lyrics. All totaled the threesome have a tight grasp on their left-hand take of modern British rock. Impressively, most of that live whomp surfaces on the group's first nationally distributed release “And with This Comes Tomorrow.” Arty but fun, dance but not top-40, Brit-pop but not retro, The Junction plays forceful with the kind of we-own-this-club attitude that fills competitors with ego-crushing anxiety.

They do have the riffs and the propulsion, though. There's nothing conventional about the “And With This Comes Tomorrow” CD, featuring a confident compilation of revisionist funk-meets-Britpop, offering a fine energetic range.

While Travis and Dave Matthews make it seem so, it is not that simple to make a bunch of chords and an unhurried voice sound inspired. However, the CD indeed captures the inspired sound, with all three players bringing enough to the table between them to suggest that the CD might have been even more dynamic than it is. Still, “And with This Comes Tomorrow” – and future releases - makes The Junction worth a look.

The hype surrounding the Brampton band – bumped even further by backing up Bedouin Soundclash - is certainly on the rise. Audition them on an MP3 player in a muscle car at high speed and volume after a few shots, and you won't care that they're not quite there yet. It is very difficult to play music this energetic for more than a few years, so catch them now while the boys are pre-hot, and edgy. - A.J.

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