My Swag

I decided to check out jj based on Pitchfork's album and track reviews and let me tell you, I'm not disappointed. Hardly breaking any new ground, the enigmatic Swedish band touches on electro-pop, ambient, straight forward acoustic pop and even hip hop (practically covering T.I. on "my swag, my life" and using Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" on "ecstacy"). The lush, simple melodies and layered, echoey vocals result in a surprisingly fresh and enjoyable sound. I've been listening to "jj n° 2" and "jj n° 1" for the past hour (at least) and while there aren't any obvious standout tracks, there isn't a dud in the bunch. Typically, I shy away from using music as strictly background noise -- I definitely avoid advertising music as such -- but in this case jj has provided the perfect backdrop for taking care of some things around the house. For that reason, I can't fully comment on the lyrics but at this point, I doubt the words can bring down the music even if they're terrible. Maybe, I'll write a more complete review when I give it a better listen, but you should check out jj in the meantime.