jj – n° 3
Rating: 
If you know anything about jj, please tell me. The amount of information is limited, but is slowly emerging. We know they’re Swedish girls, so that’s a start. (pro-tip: That Google Image Search is NSFW, which I suppose is a good omen) Maybe this stereotype is exactly the reason for the group to withhold their identities, but I digress. The illusive Swedes now follow up their critical acclaimed previous release n° 2 and debut single n° 1, and while continuing their trend of numeric releases, n° 3 lacks the mystery and intrigue of the former. I wonder how long it took the group to name their newest release. However, this secrecy can only take you so far before your followers grow tired of this cat and mouse game. Prior to this release, jj had emerged from complete obscurity and seemed to thrive with their lack of human qualities. Only recently, did we finally catch a glimpse of the band in their first music video for Let Go. The video is beautifully shot, although it seems to be meaningless other than art for art’s sake.
Don’t bother looking for their MySpace, or a website for that matter. In addition, what resembles a website of Sincerely Yours, the Gothenburg-based recording label, is as basic as basic gets, with little to no information. (You can however buy a bullet-proof vest) In a world where the prospective seller has to go to the buyer, jj has the music blogs to thank. They obviously revel in their anonymity and seemingly don’t concern themselves with any sort of fame (state-side at least), which is refreshing in an annoying sort of way. On the other hand, it almost seems overconfident that the group can rely on their music to speak for itself, especially as I don’t think their music speaks very loudly. It’s the mystery following the band leading to this wave of popularity. I sense that the group rushed to release their second full length quickly following their debut, to not fall into obscurity in our rapidly evolving musical climate. To me, there’s not much substance to hold my interest following one spin of the record, and a forced second spin.
Their debut took many blogs and listeners by surprise when it showed up very high in best of lists last year, but paint me as ignorant or biased, but I’ll stick to the Icelandic pop; which seems to carry with it so much more weight and depth. It’s a very short sophomore release coming in at just over 27 minutes, similar to n° 2, whose 9 tracks spanned roughly the same length. The tone of n° 3 is distinctive from their last, where the previous was a summer anthem; this is a winter lover’s theme music, conjuring images of Swedish chalet roofs draped in ice and snow.
The constants are there, with dream pop and synthesizers as the overwhelming attribute. The group displays more dissonance, especially within the opening track My Life. It’s soft and airy much like the previous release, but is more distant and less touching. Let Go, with its distant harmonica is really the only highlight for me on a record with virtually every other track sounding remarkably similar. From their previous release, they have retreated from the drum driven rhythms to the more ambient and guitar lead melodies. The only exception is shown with the tribal percussion of Into the Light that reminds me of the title track to Ferngully.
When the denouement of the final track No Escapin’ This hits, I for one am glad that it’s just a song title., but maybe that is unnecessarily mean. It’s not that I completely dislike it, the release holds some intriguing melodies which float in similar patterns to n° 2; however, it has lost its gleam. For you Austinites who gush over Pitchfork reviews, you’ll be happy to see jj on the schedule for SXSW. Here, you can catch the group in its physical form and here’s hoping they put on a good live show. Somehow, I think they’ll disappoint. They are also currently on tour with fellow buzz artists the xx. It’s no doubt that they’ll gather together at some point during the tour to discuss their loathing of capitalized letters.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/03-let-go.mp3]Download: JJ – Let Go [MP3]
