EP ReviewPeople know what I like. I guess if you read this blog or talk to me enough, you can pretty much pinpoint the things that I'll be into. So when my buddy Joe turned me onto Jackal Onasis, he knew exactly what he was doing.
On big deal party, Jackal Onasis are the duo of Jordyn Blakely (drums / vocals) and Alex Molini (guitar / bass / vocals). The set dabbles in quite a few of the sounds that always draw me in: the noise and submerged vocals of My Bloody Valentine, the distorted pop of Dinosaur Jr., and those distinctive octaves of Smashing Pumpkins and Screaming Females.
The vocals bob on top of oozing keys and guitar on opener "the handsome giraffe." The ethereal opener bleeds into the much more jagged "listen to your nurse (no sleep)." The vocals once again blend into the mix; but, this time, the guitars pound aggressively with a decidedly 90s heft.
Blakely takes lead vocal on the next two tracks. On both the title track and EP standout "runty little puppy," Blakely's melodic yet almost deadpan delivery contrasts with the fits, starts, twists, and bends of the music. It's a real mark of skill to be able to take songs that don't initially appear to follow a traditional structure and still fill them with things for a listener to grab onto -- like the theme that everything swirls around on "runty little puppy" or the anticipation of what the guitar will do next on another Blakely-sung track "the new ron."
The guitars chime and the drums groove on "mookie told me everything." It could be the most upbeat-sounding track on big deal party, but Molini is delivering lines like "failing is what we do" as the song bops along.
The EP closes with "i went to college (procrastination)." Starting simply with Molini and Blakely singing "I can't pay my bills on time" over acoustic guitar, the song sounds like it will be a folksy waltz. Before long, though, it takes a left turn into something a little more experimental. It grows and morphs by its end into something that fits seamlessly in with what we've heard so far.
So, yeah. big deal party is right in my wheelhouse. Jackal Onasis pair distortion and experimentation with solid songwriting into a package that I'll always find pretty irresistible. And, as I listened, I couldn't help becoming really curious and excited about just how loud these songs must get live.
big deal party is out now on Exploding In Sound Records, and downloads of the EP are available at the Jackal Onasis Bandcamp.
You can go check out just how loud this band gets during their live show when they play at Brooklyn's Gutter tonight, Friday, July 8th. Jackal Onasis have added bassist, Ghoul Man; and they'll be joined on that bill by Sodium Beast and Fraidycat.
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