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jj Sprawl Out for High-Concept ‘My Boyz’ Video

jj, 'My Boyz,' video, stream, Sincerely Yours

Swedish eccentrics jj have always followed their own muse, often mixing rap-inspired brashness with ambient prettiness, and they take that to an epic scale in their latest song and video. “My Boyz” (not to be confused with fellow Swede songbird Taken By Trees’ Animal Collective cover) stretches out over six minutes of opulent, piano- and strings-centered ache, with Elin Kastlander’s blunt, foul-mouthed lyrics contrasting with her gorgeously wounded murmur. “Talk around town / I fucked everybody / Fuck you, not true / I’m not for anybody,” Kastlander begins, later slipping in a reference to the “ATL” even as those echoing chords hint at something far softer.

The video, above, is even more ambitious, beginning with an all-text, all-caps mission statement of sorts: “This is not a commercial / This is not a single / This is not a cry for help / It’s just / He dumped me on the phone, I felt so dumb.” The clip then goes through various numbered parts, with shots of snowcapped mountains, a facepainted man running in the dark, a glitter-eyed vocalist, vintage-looking footage of more innocent times, and other lovingly shot scenarios. It’s as enigmatic as you might expect from brilliantly cultish label Sincerely Yours, but it’s exquisite to look at and definitely never boring. (Scroll down to stream or download the audio only.)

In the same “hella Xmas baby” email blast with which Sincerely Yours shared the jj song and video, it also offered a link to download the book for labelmate team rockit’s 2013 album Amina. The aesthetic is notably similar — check that out here.