The Swedish duo jj emerged on the Gothenburg based record label Sincerely Yours in 2009, with a particularly gratifying take on the musical preoccupations common to much of the label’s roster. The band consists of Joakim Benon and Elin Kastlander.
Their take on neo-Balearic indie pop filters Air France’s tropical haze, the Tough Alliance’s penchant for slyly irreverent appropriation, and the Honeydrips’ fragile twee pop melodicism into a beguilingly lush, gently electronic style reminiscent of prime Saint Etienne with a smoother, beachier sheen. JJ also share their labelmates’ propensity for mystery, favoring an artfully enigmatic presentation that has engendered near-complete Internet silence concerning the group’s identity and back-story, but the female vocalist (Elin Kastlander) provides a distinguishing sonic hallmark in the form of her warm, lusciously smooth alto.
Their first pair of releases, the sequentially titled 7” jj nº 1 and debut album jj nº 2, appeared in spring 2009. Their second full length album, called jj nº 3, will be released in USA and Sweden on March 9, 2010. In spring, the same year, they will go on a tour in the USA with the British band The xx.
JJ is also the name of a 90s pop group from Salford, England- fronted by the eponymous Jan Johnston. |
