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Whether the dip in quality is the result of a rush to create new material or whether these are simply the lesser leftovers from the same sessions that produced N 2, here's hoping JJ take some time (and maybe one of those epically blissful vacations their music conjures so evocatively) to make sure N 4 comes out fully baked.
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On the one hand, no 3 can sound frustrating unfinished. It seems as though something substantially more satisfying would have been attained had the band just stuck with it for a while longer. On the other, it's an enjoyable enough distraction not without its merits. Just don't think of it as the proper progression from no 2.
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This album simply sounds like their first with inferior production and less-memorable songs.
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Late in the record, the perky "You Know" also stands up to the quality of jj n 2, but between these tracks is mostly B-side fare. It's a shame, but I don't get the sense listening to jj n 3 that jj's best work is behind them.
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jj no 3, in essence, fails to carry the same number of dimensions and, unfortunately, and perhaps unfairly, reduces jj to a hype machine.
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All residents of the genre are bound to appear lackluster in comparison, but that doesn't change the fact that jj n 3 could have been a strong album if it had been given a longer gestation period.
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jj struck a subtle and surprising balance with their debut, but this time around, they've withdrawn, letting their techniques dangle in the air, starving for justification. The effort is weaker for it.
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Far from implying that mind-expansion = mesmerising creativity, jj no 3 unfurls like it's going through the course of a drug-induced reaction.
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Ultimately, jj has the concept and the intrigue down; if only they could get their music to match.
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Mopey, twee, orchestral, downbeat--the duo cover all these bases in the flattest, most sophomoric way. Worse, though, is that the album sounds like a bunch of outtakes.