Jagwar Ma live at Fortune

by Irene Lo

Jagwar Ma, the psychedelic dance band from Sydney, Australia, was howling at their best at Fortune Sound Club this Monday in Vancouver.

Jagwar Ma’s sound is often compared to Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses, since their sound can be loosely summed up as what might have happened if the Madchester scene met modern electronic production. Their particular fusion of guitar dance music to electronic has resulted in some of this year’s trippiest dance numbers.

Their debut album, Howlin’, delivered in tenfold what the singles previously promised; hallucinogenic sounds that would make you simultaneously want to get up and dance and lie down to contemplate time and space. “What Love”, the first song played from the night’s set list, fused that particular tension, being a track that built up steadily to a hazy, but rapturous climax. “Uncertainty”, one of the album’s undeniable hits, was on next, and is even more intoxicating live than on the record.

Besides being a band that Noel Gallagher has praised, Jagwar Ma is also a pop-friendly band. Songs like “Man I Need”, “Let Her Go”, and “Come Save Me”, all heard Monday night, depend on a catchy hook, which is the bread and butter for a successful pop song. At the same time, they tend to trail off rather than end abruptly so that the lyrics never dominate and take over the overall song. The performance of a song like “Come Save Me” didn’t feel so tightly structured or manufactured as a pop song can feel, there was room to explore and appreciate the instrumental melody.

Abstaining from the softer songs on Howlin’ like “Did You Have To” and “Backwards Berlin”, Jagwar Ma’s set was one good vibration after another. “Exercise” and “Four” were both light on the lyrics and fond of building atmosphere through repetitious sounds and vocal loops. Ending the night appropriately enough with “The Throw”, an ecstatic beat with echoing falsetto work, Jagwar Ma enticed our love with their heady performance.