Every Now & Then

Album review

The dreamy, wide-screen '90s revivalism of Jagwar Ma's first album Howlin' gained the Australian duo a devoted fan base that bridged generations. People who lived through the baggy, dancefloor-friendly psych pop era of the actual '90s found much to love in the epically danceable tunes; younger people who may not know Northside from Flowered Up responded to the expansive, post-Animal Collective mashup of guitars, synths, and soaring vocals. Plus, the album had a large number of brilliant tunes. After touring the world and taking time to record a follow-up, 2016's Every Now & Then, the duo of producer/instrumentalist Jono Ma and vocalist Gabriel Winterfield succeed in copying the successful aspects of their debut while still keeping things sounding fresh and throwing in a few new tricks here and there, like the techno breakdowns on "Slipping" or the heavy modern pop chorus of "Batter Up." Throughout the album they amp up the dreaminess, pump up the hooks, and generally make it sound like every song was recorded live on-stage in front of a stadium full of people, even as they connect with each individual member of the throng. Tracks like the boundlessly energetic "Say What You Feel" or the swooningly sweet "Ordinary" have the kind of choruses it's easy to imagine a huge crowd singing along with, or a kid under a pair of headphones silently grooving along to. Balanced with these huge arena pleasers that make up the bulk of the record are tracks like "Loose Ends," which has a deeper, stickier rhythmic sense and the kind of slinky strut that the best Happy Mondays (or in the case of "Give Me a Reason," a little bit of Stereo MC's) flair. No matter the mood or approach, the band fill every inch of the arrangements with ringing guitars, sweeping keyboards, squelching synths, and Winterfield's soaring vocals. It's basically the same thing they did on Howlin', a little slicker and a little more varied, but none the worse for it. In fact, there are times when it sounds like they come close to perfecting the template they came up with on Howlin' as tracks like "O B I" and "Colours of Paradise" sound like laser-focused versions of songs from their debut. Every Now & Then is the best kind of second album, one that improves on the first one without throwing away any of the elements that made it good. They may have to change things up soon, but for now, Jagwar Ma have again tapped into the '90s revival and come up with just about the best result possible.

© Tim Sendra /TiVo