Album Review: Every Now & Then - Jagwar Ma

By Maeve Costello | Nov 12 2016

JAGWAR MA’S sophomore effort sees the Australian trio building on the better parts of their first album. While Howlin was undoubtedly a pretty solid debut, Every Now & Then takes Jagwar Ma to new heights.Despite hailing from Australia, the band’s sound is deeply rooted in Madchester, acid house, trip-hop, and pretty much every other niche British genre from the late 80s/early 90s (except, maybe, shoegaze). Jagwar Ma takes the best aspects of these genres and mashes them into something entirely new that is a treat on the ears. A refreshing change in a world over saturated with Mercury Prize nominated middle-of-the-roadsters — you know who you are.While their first album fell down in its latter half, in Every Now & Then the opposite is true. The first three tracks, while decent, pale in comparison to what follows.The album only really hits its groove when it reaches ‘Give Me A Reason’. At seven minutes it is the longest song on the album, with lyrics and vocals secondary to Jono Ma’s synths and general production on this track. From there on in, things only continue to build up.The album builds on itself to form arguably one of the strongest releases of 2016 so far, with album highlights including ‘Ordinary’, ‘Batter Up’, ‘High Rotations’, and album closer ‘Colours of Paradise’. With the exception of the forgettable ‘Slipping’, the last eight tracks are a euphoric listening experience.In A Nutshell: Imagine Tame Impala mixed with Primal Scream, but so much better.