The trio jackie comes from the Canadian city of Toronto. The musicians deliver wonderfully light and catchy indie pop with a good pinch of nostalgia. After their debut EP New at Drugs from two years ago, the follow-up with the EP Hey Angel will be released at the end of January.
Jackie is a band where I connected with their music right from the first listen. The sound is uncomplicated, honest and solid. At the same time, the music is incredibly uplifting. Simply music that is fun to listen to! The three-piece band consists of lead singer Jackie Mohr, Marc Girardin on electric guitar and drummer Max Trefler.
In order to be able to classify the songs of jackie and their new EP Hey Angel, it is worth taking a brief look back at the predecessor New at Drugs. To see where the band stands and how the sound has changed in the last few years. On the debut record, the band sounded predominantly rockier and more experimental. With the songs on Hey Angel, they now seem to have found their way. But don’t worry, the slightly playful rock accompanies you also through this new EP. Overall, the music has become more light-footed and much more melodic.
The EP kicks off with My Best Years, a number that is perfect for celebrating yourself! Jackie convey a feel-good feeling with fast beats that stick through this guitar-driven feel-good song. Lyrics like “It’s funny when I hate myself” are both critical and ironic. With the following track Love to Give, things suddenly become more serious. The song comes across as somewhat darker and slightly epic. Singer Jackie suffers a bit too much in this number. Maybe to illustrate how much she likes to give love.
Track three, the middle track Right This Time (Don’t Wanna Be) is rather light fare with chilling sounds. But the song is melodious and shows that the band knows how to convince. Nevertheless, it is the weakest track on the excellent record. You could use it as a start-up to enjoy the second half.
Relationship stress with acoustic guitar
At the end of the EP, the real cream pieces with acoustic guitar have found their place. Leaving Tomorrow is the song that played itself into my heart like a lightning strike! Jackie sings fervently about the beauty and the trouble in a relationship. “Hey angel, where the hell have you been?” sings Jackie Mohr at the beginning of the song, without suspecting that later the EP will be called Hey Angel. She looks back on a relationship that was simply terrible for her.
About the last track Filter Jackie Mohr says “„I love when I write something that’s not about love, or loss, or pain because that’s often what I think about when writing, but Filter instead just has this cool wave of good vibes.“ And that’s how the song feels, because that’s exactly the positive vibes the song transports.
With Hey Angel, jackie release six songs that I can just listen to on repeat for hours! The EP will be released on 27 January 2021 on Perfectly Sane Music. Unfortunately, the band has cancelled the tour in Germany planned for February 2022. However, I will be there as soon as I get the chance.
More about jackie you find on the Bandhomepage, Facebook, Instagram and the Youtube channel.
Fotocredit: Ryan Faist