With a bio reaching back only a year, jj? are an ambitious group. The Swedish duo’s n°3 is their second full length record, and their debut for US indie Secretly Canadian. They can be summed up as electro-pop, though many would also slap a hyphened-emo somewhere in the mix. The key word is “electro,” as the two rely mostly on synthesizer and ambient beats with overlying danceable melodies reinforced by Elin Kastlander’s voice.

The focus is clearly on pop, as nothing on n°3 tops four minutes. This brevity is what keeps the band from wearing out their welcome on the twenty-five minute album. jj? are most interesting when the tone is upbeat, such as the opening “My Life,” in which Kastlander reworks Li’l Wayne lyrics with an ambiguous and mystical tone that sounds like a stoned Fiona Apple?. For the most part, however, the songs tend toward a sleepy ambience where she murmurs over electronic beats with a rhythmic, pop sensibility than overlies more subtle and diverse nuances, ranging from new wave to house and hip-hop with a predominant Scandinavian feel. Her indiscernible lyrics offer a calm, mystical feel that, as with the varied musical influences are drawn to the forefront, add a melodramatic flair, even utilizing a glockenspiel to close out “Voi Parlate, Lo Gioco.” On the slower, more ambient tracks that comprise the bulk of the release, Kastlander’s voice slips into a soothing background with a positive, breezy feel. As background music, the record works adequately, but on closer listen it offers little more.

When the pace increases for “You Know,” Kastlander swaps her dreary style for more emotion. It plays a big role in the song’s catchiness but it also draws attention to the lyrics, which are impossible to take seriously as they waver between cutesy and trite—it’s a distraction of Owl City proportions when Kastlander coos such lines as “I love you so/in my dreams at night/your wish is the sun/shiny and bright.” The mystery of the record quickly reveals itself as empty but well-meaning pop.