With its stripped-back live sound and jazz inflected grooves, I’d have imagined Jaala’s debut album Hard Hold to be exactly my cup of tea. Tea, like music, however, has a lot of nuances beyond what’s written on the label, all of which contribute to whether a certain individual will find it appealing.
Jaala is the side project of singer/guitarist Cosima Jaala, who fronts raucous Melbourne outfit Mangelwurzel. She uses this quasi-solo project to sing of matters more personal, and in general it works. Her voice and persona are strikingly original, and the four-piece band nail the live performances throughout this eight track album. However, you’re left feeling that the excitement and intimacy required of the material hasn’t been effectively transferred to disc.
Hiatus Kaiyote’s Paul Bender produced and engineered Hard Hold. The sparse production captures the quirky groove of the band, but it also reveals the songs’ melodic similarity, which leads them to blend together when listened as a full set.
Jaala’s little girl voice bubbles and bristles with personality – her unique delivery owes significant debt to punk rock and suits the weirdo-jazz-pop sound, recalling at times Bjork and Siouxsie Sioux. Her lyrics are economically served poetic turns of phrase and obviously based on real experiences. This is especially true of the standout track, Salt Shaker, which is about leaving her Queensland hometown.
In the end, this is a promising start in hopefully a long and fruitful journey for Jaala – it sounds like a high quality demo of some decent tunes by a crack hot original band. It’s frustratingly undercooked, but at least it makes you want to go and see them live in order to get the full experience.
BY ALEX WATTS
