Review of 'No. 2'

Swedish band JJ released their first full-length album, No. 2, on the Swedish record label Sincerely Yours in July, 2009. The moment I first played the album, I was smitten. With the recent incorporation of dance-oriented sounds into indie music, which has broken down the unnecessary and artificial barrier between dance and rock music, new bands have poured forth a cornucopia of works which reflect the aesthetics of disco, electro, and synthpop. I will not expound on how this trend may already be five or so years old, because I believe good music is perennial and that it should be an ongoing experiment.

No. 2 shows off a set of sweet songs with soft cadences characterising a sound termed by some as Balearic disco (as distinct from late 1980s and early 1990s Balearic beat), which, at least in its twenty-first century manifestation, serves as a sort of traditionally-written after-thought to the harder, more monotonous sounds heard in the clubs of Spain's Las Islas Baleares, specifically the famous party resort of Ibiza. Most of the songs feature unassuming vocals which coast gently and carefully from key to key without vulgar vocal acrobatics, while a loping four-to-the-floor beat trips lightly in the background, interrupted occasionally by an invasive yet playful conga drum. Meanwhile, eerie violins create a fantastic, ethereal backdrop. The final effect is a bouncey, luxurious romp through the subtropics reminiscent of other Balearic and Cosmic disco acts such as Norway's Hans-Peter Lindstrøm or Prins Thomas.

Listening to No. 2, one is reminded of Culture Club's Do You Really Want To Hurt Me or Erasure's Blue Savannah; Masterplan even sounds uncannily like a mid-tempo track from the latter band's 1997 album, Cowboy. The wash of plaintive, distant vocals, light guitars, shrill strings, and soft drums create a refreshingly unpretentious, care-free atmosphere which anybody can enjoy over a mint julip on a humid summer day, or even over a double Long Island iced-tea at one of the more daring discotheques of the night.

Image ©2009 Sincerely Yours