Featured Artist: Jagwar Ma

In the late ’80s, “Madchester” took its hold on the city of Manchester, England, capturing the ecstasy-laden hearts of Brits everywhere with its groove-focused, psychedelic strain of dance rock. The scene produced such acts as The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and now–two decades later–an upstart Aussie outfit called Jagwar Ma.

Formed in late 2011, the Sydney-native band consists of keyboardist/band namesake Jono Ma, vocalist Gabriel Winterfield, and bassist Jack Freeman, who performs with the band live. On June 21st, they released their debut LP, Howlin’, which earned critical praise from a slew of publications and the recognition of former Oasis guitarist/sometimes singer Noel Gallagher. Blending the defining components of Madchester with modern production and a glistening pop approach, Jagwar Ma has created a singular persona that’s worked as well in album form as it does live. Riding the success ofthe band is already set to hit the festival circuit with stops at Pitchfork Festival Paris, Latitude, and Pukkelpop among others.

Jagwar Ma’s sound might borrow elements from Madchester music, but their key strength is their ability to infuse the older genre with modern elements. Like Tame Impala and Cut Copy, two other renowned Australian revivalist groups, Jagwar Ma are uncannily good at at faithfully conjuring older sounds while simultaneously reinvigorating them. Tracks like album opener “What Love” show how firmly Jagwar Ma’s feet are planted in older structures; taking cues from the best of Madchester music, the song builds a tower of layered voices, groovy bass, and arena-filling drums that initially settle into silence. Then, the song roars up again with its final kick; a short coda that reprises the song’s melodic motif, flipping it onto its head with synthy dubstep elements and off-kilter bass drum pumps.

While the Madchester style is readily apparent on Howlin’, Jagwar Ma’s sound stretches in different directions that hint at other influences. The band’s psychedelic vocals and near-meditative focus on loops are reminiscent of Animal Collective and the solo work of Panda Bear. Their knack for easily-digestible pop melodies and delightful harmonies bring the Beach Boys to mind.

With their heavily reminiscent first album and the critical praise following its release, Jagwar Ma have big shoes to fill. But if their debut sound and revivalist talents remain intact, there’s great music to be expected from this band in the future. Pick up the LP from their online store and check out some of their streaming singles on Soundcloud.

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Josh Calixto

Josh has always been a dedicated music fan, but only started to explore deeper artists as a journalism student at Northwestern University. With no favorite genre and much love for musicians including The Sundays, Curren$y, Colin Stetson, and The Blood Brothers, he prides himself on a wide-ranging musical taste and willingness to listen to just about anything. Right now, Josh is particularly into female-fronted dreampop, energetic psych-rock, and trap music.