"Where did this band come from, and why is there a pot leaf on the cover?"
At only twenty-seven minutes long, this debut full-length from mysterious Swedish group, jj, was not only the perfect combination of many of my favorite sounds, but, like Atlas Sound's Logos, became a source of comfort in time of need. When my grandmother passed away, the uplifting one-two-punch of "Things Will Never Be The Same Again" and "From Africa to Malaga" kept me moving, the two things that allowed me to seek solace in the seeming senselessness of everything. "Ecstacy" was just a fucking jam, a tongue-in-cheek jam that samples Lil Wayne, only to quote Will Smith's "Miami". When some heart-pangs set in after the whirlwind of past few months, "Are You Still in Vallda?", a stunning ballad about the transience of summer love, sailed through to make it all better.
Sure, the record is shimmery and melodic, a seamless patchwork of sounds, cultures and textures. That goes without saying. What sets jj apart from all the other globally-minded, drug-hazy electronic-pop acts out there is real heart. Fewalbums resonated with me more this year, or any year, to force me out the shuffle-friendly mindset of the times and just sit down and listen.
In many ways, it felt as if the record had listened to me too.
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