Friday 21 February 2014

Review of "The Brink" by The Jezabels


Eighties New Wave is being revived to death. 


The Strokes, Foals, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol and Franz Ferdinand are just a handful of the indie bands that have been getting their hussar-style jackets on and grooming their bouffants to embrace their inner Duran Duran. Australian group, The Jezabels, are also riding the bandwagon. However, unlike their contemporaries, The Jezabels have thrown away all the groove and vivacity of New Wave, reviving the genre whilst simultaneously sucking all the life out of it.

To be fair, there are occasional instances on this record in which its airy, sunny synths succeed at being quite pretty. However, for all its mellowness, it suffers from a lack of dynamics that makes it altogether about as pretty as a kitten without a pulse. Lead singer, Hayley Mary, can certainly sing but her vocals just aren’t emotive or catchy. The banal chord progressions accompanying her contribute to a record that’s overall just forgettable. Impressively forgettable. Unforgettably forgettable? Let’s not get silly now... 


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