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On Sunday
morning, I was hating on pretty much everything. Hungover, hung parliament,
prospectively facing three years under a government I wasn’t happy with and I
had began dramatically devising some schemes to riot. But my head hurt. So,
instead of rioting, I switched on my laptop to savour in some sweet
sounds, hoping that it all would disappear. I decided to press play on Jinja
Safari’s debut self-titled EP. Almost immediately, I was transported back to a happier time. A time in which people were coming together from all over Australia to dance and drink
and eat and be merry under Queensland’s scorching sun. Of course, that happy
time was Splendour in the Grass, merely a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, at
Splendour I only caught the very end of the set from Jinja Safari. This is something I now regret.
The new EP
consists of five fresh tracks from the duo, all staying true to the general
feel of jungle pop-roots fun. The track names say it all: ‘Mud’, ‘Peter Pan’, ‘Forest
Eyes’,’Vagabond’, ‘Stepping Stones’; Jinja Safari’s music certainly evokes
images of jungles and gypsies travelling down untrodden roads. Though it often
resembles Vampire Weekend (think, ‘Horchata’ and ‘Walcott’), this isn’t all a
bad thing. They do it well, and the whole “escapism” tone seems a little more
authentic with Jinja Safari. As it should be: band members Marcus Azon and Pepa Knight met in Australia’s tropics and then trotted
across the globe to a town in Africa called Jinja. And thus, Jinja Safari was
born.
‘Peter Pan’ is certainly recognisable
with its whimsical lyrics and catchy percussion. The rest of the tracks follow
the same sort of formula, so if that’s not your thing, I wouldn’t recommend
this EP. But, if it is, then needless to say this is right up your alley. I
personally love it. Fun, imaginative, vibrant. Escapism at its best. 'Mud' is a stand out, but the opening chimes of 'Stepping Stones' and the four and a half minutes that follow are... invigorating.
Yes! I feel hope in the world, once more.
Review Score: 8.5/10
[Header photo: Shantanu Starick www.
