The Jezabels

NSW intensindie band The Jezabels are like an asteroid freshly drilled by Bruce Willis; that is they’re blowing up. Fresh off the back of a performance at Triple J’s One Night Stand at Tumby Bay in South Australia and a recent trip to the wow the who’s who of music at the SXSW (South By Southwest) music conference in Austin, Texas The Jezabels swung in to Melbourne last week to perform 2 sold out shows at The Corner Hotel in Richmond as part of their national tour, ahead of their involvement in the upcoming Groove In The Moo festival next month and debut LP release later this year.

Having released three EPs over the last few years the groundswell around the Jezabels has been growing for sometime now, and rightfully so, as they have such a distinct soul piercing sound, grand music that swells up inside you and allows you to connect with your pure inner core. Comprised of the hugely vocally talented Hayley Mary, Heather Shannon on keyboard/piano, Samuel Lockwood on guitar and Nik Kaloper on drums, the Jezabels took to the stage on the corner in style, with the first note uttered by Mary immediately grabbing the attention of every patron of the gig, and then did not let go for the rest of the set.

Hayley Mary's vocal style and range is impressive, channelling equal parts Taylor Dayne circa I’ll Be Your Shelter and the blue alien opera singer from The Fifth Element (another Bruce Willis connection) Mary was flawless, and tracks like Easy To Love, She’s So Hard and Dark Storm were performed beautifully.

Kudos must go to the rest of the band as well, as their sonical input really complements to vocals, creating an atmospheric launch pad of sound for Mary to soar from, and the joy of playing together was plain to see throughout the performances of Easy To Love, Disco Biscuit Love and my personal favourite, the hauntingly amazing Hurt Me.

Peppering the set with a couple of songs from their upcoming album, and surrounding themselves with very complementary aesthetical lighting and visual elements, The Jezabels satisfied every member of the audience with their show, though none more then with their epic live rendition of last years smash hit Mace Spray, which garnered a monstrous applause from the crowd; and I suspect that my ears could talk they would have cried out 'Yippey Ki-Yay' in gratitude.

The Jezabels are on the way to big things, and their immense talent is only amplified in a live setting, great stuff.

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