jj: jj n° 2 [SECRETLY CANADIAN]

Why you'll love it

This Secretly Canadian LP comes with a download card. The album scored 86 on Metacritic, earned Pitchfork's Best New Music tag and was named the second-best pop album of 2009 by The Washington Post.

This edition

• Download card included

About the album

Some bands arrive with a press campaign; jj arrived with a shrug and a beach towel. The Swedish duo of Joakim Benon and Elin Kastlander put their debut out in July 2009 on the Gothenburg label Sincerely Yours, with a credit that simply read produced by jj and very little else. In under 27 minutes it drifts between indie pop, Balearic beat and dream pop, like a holiday you half remember.

"Things Will Never Be the Same Again" opens on acoustic guitar and soft synths, "From Africa to Málaga" floats along on Kastlander's breathy vocal, and "Ecstasy" borrows from a Lil Wayne hit and turns it into a woozy lullaby. "Are You Still in Vallda?" and "My Love" sound like postcards home, "Intermezzo" lets the strings sigh, and "Me & Dean" closes the album on a gentle, sunny note.

Paste called it the year's greatest musical obscurity and Gorilla vs. Bear put it ninth in its year-end list, and Secretly Canadian brought it to North American turntables. It's about the length of a lunch break, and we've found it improves most of them.

Also at Kops: more jj on vinyl · browse Electronic

Tracklist

Listen

On Sincerely Yours / Secretly Canadian (cat# SC164), a reissue of the 2009 album.