With the Olympics still fresh in our memories, the world feels small. And while many people need an event of global competition or a tragedy like what is happening in Chile to bring the world into their living rooms, music fans can simply put their iTunes on shuffle and get the same effect. The Very Best take me to Africa, Beirut to an Eastern European market, places I have never been and am likely never to go. jj‘s first full length, jj n° 2, felt like one of those around-the-world plane tickets you hear about on game shows, with each song viewing the world through the window of a jet as you go rushing by. Less than a year later, jj n° 3 finds the group on a new label with much-less-ambitious goals. This still makes for pleasant listening at times, but it is ultimately (and unfortunately) forgettable.

jj still have the global reach throughout the tracks on jj n° 3, but through subtle touches. “Voi Parlate, lo Gioco” combines the relaxing new age you would expect of Scandinavia with messy hip hop beats, but it ultimately feels cheesy and forced. The climax of the song, with its “music stops/music drops” line, is cringe-inducing, like jj expect they can get away with anything, not realizing the listener has heard these tricks (and especially this line) countless times before. It is almost too laidback, with the orchestration sounding phoned-in, cliched, and just plain boring.

But before I get too critical, there are some rather nice moments on the album. Album opener, “My Life”, is beautifully sung and sounds like nothing from their previous album. Performed with minimal accompaniment, the refrain of “it goes around the world” indicates something big to come. And the second track keeps with this. “And Now” begins with an uplifting symphony backing and then strips it down to another wonderful melody. The strings come up and recede at the right moments, the flute-ish sounds providing fills at the breaks. The problem is that it is also too relaxed from an intro that promised something grander.

By the time “Let Go” is in full swing, the promise has already been dropped. “Let Go” was the song made available in advance of the album release, and it is pretty disappointing. From the Springsteen harmonica to the “take me away like I overdosed on heroin” line, there is very little to enjoy. I thought these were weed fans? And while the heroin seems out of place, it is nothing  like the soccer sounds on “Into the Light”. Or football, I should say. Did we really need that to let us know there is a global influence going on here? Furthermore, this made me feel like a racist. I heard the commentator start and assumed the excited Spanish was a soccer announcer, then questioned why I assumed a fast-speaking excited Spanish speaker had to be a soccer announcer. When the second clip began and I could hear the crowd noise, I realized my initial reaction was correct, but still felt like an asshole. Thanks jj.

The spare melodies that continue throughout the very-short record remind me of another Swede, Jens Lekman. But rather than make me enjoy the Lekman similarities, I just missed Jens Lekman. The beats, the mini-orchestras, the pronunciation of “th” as “d,” the only things missing are the clever lyrics and self-deprecating humor. The duo’s lack of lyrical savvy in the end creates a sort of empty feeling, with songs that aren’t interesting enough to carry an album on music alone. The last third of the album really clunks, with “Golden Virginia” a straight snoozer, “You Know” a boring pop throwaway, and “No Escapin’ This” sounding like electro-light trash. Like its predecessor, no song goes over four minutes in length, and there is nothing you would want to. The overwhelming feeling by album’s end is that maybe they should have waited a little longer to release a follow-up, with the song-writing sounding rushed and empty where maybe a year of work could have put a stronger collection together.

Still, I think this record has an audience somewhere. As a listener though, I feel underestimated by jj, like they tried to use recycled ideas and an expectation that the listener was not well-versed in their tricks in order to confuse us, co-opting many things that have been done before (and better) and dressing it up as some sort of brilliance. I am not buying it, and I recommend you don’t either. Jens Lekman should have something out pretty soon, Vampire Weekend are pretty rad right now, and I heard  The Very Best are touring as well. There are better ways to deliver the globe to your living room. Or better yet, just donate your 10 bucks to Chile and really be a part of the global community.