jj

jj, "Are You Still in Vallda?" (DOWNLOAD)

A long time ago Drew was like, "So, have you listened to the xx? I think you would like them." When I asked why he thought I would like them he said, "they sound like that stupid girl music you like." So, excited to potentially here new stupid girl music, I listened to the xx and was pretty much disappointed. When I told Drew this, he said, "hm, maybe I was thinking about jj..." So, I listened to jj's album, jj no 2 and you know what? He probably was thinking about jj, because I really, really liked what I heard.

If you asked Drew to talk about jj he would probably say something bland and informative like, "jj is a Swedish band with shoegaze influences," and while that is technically accurate, it is lacking some VERY KEY INFORMATION. Key information like: jj actually sounds a little bit like the Human League.

About a zillion internet years ago, when I was in middle school, my mother drove me to school every day and for about six consecutive months she played the Human League's 1995 single "One Man in My Heart" in the car every single morning (since the internet is a place that allows everything to live forever, you can watch this YouTube video for "One Man in My Heart" & get a sense for what I'm talking about.)

I am 100% confident that Drew would object to me comparing jj to the Human League, but I really think I'm onto something -- it's not that they sound exactly like the Human League, but I think that something about the female vocals is suggestive of the Human League, but maybe a cooler Human League? (Personally, I always thought that the Human League are pretty cool, but I've come to acknowledge that some people consider them to be cheesy 80's music.)

Anyway, jj will be embarking on a US tour this month (along with the xx). They'll be in Columbus on April 5th at the Wexner Center (Drew & I will be there) & you can see a full tour schedule here. Their new album, jj no 3, will be out next week on Secretly Canadian. You can preorder direct from Secretly Canadian (CDs are $11, LPs are $12.50).

jj, "Are You Still in Vallda?" (DOWNLOAD)