This Is Our Jam: jj, “Beautiful Life”

Swedish pop duo jj have been doing their St. Etienne-meets-Weezy thing for a few years now, but with each release they sound as fresh and inscrutable as ever. New single “Beautiful Life” takes a hook that lead-singer Elin Kastlander first sang on Spêcial Club’s "CELEBRIS" and stitches it together with a tapestry of druggy excess and, as the title suggests, natural beauty. For every “champagne and marijuana / cocaine in the corner” there’s a “It’s a beautiful night / to live our beautiful life,” sung without the slightest hint of irony. Perhaps it's this sincerity that allows jj to avoid pastiche — a wink is only fleeting, but Elin Kastlander and Joakim Benon approach each new melody with eyes wide open.