Some bands you can listen to all night. The Jezabels are one.
This group of four Sydneysiders all in their twenties were mesmerizingly good at Lee’s Palace on Friday night, playing 45 minutes of their unique indie-pop that never gets too loud or too soft and never stops you moving. Singer Hayley Mary has one of those ethereal voices that just plain makes you want to hear more of it.
With their Canadian Music Fest appearance done, Mary and her bandmates are already on to the States. Hopefully they’ll make it back to Toronto soon for another set. The Jezabels have toured with Canadians Tegan and Sara in Australia and are creating quite a bit of buzz Down Under for their upcoming tour.
Another band that’s got a growing following in their homeland is A Friend in London, a Danish quartet who played to a tiny but enthusiastic late-night crowd at Mitzi’s Sister on Day 3 of CMF. A Friend in London have won competitions overseas, including the 2008 Bodog Battle of the Bands, and have enough talent that they should be playing venues more prestigious than the Irish pubs they’re setting up in during their run through Ontario this month. In their poppy rock songs you’ll hear hints of U2, the Smiths and Peter Gabriel. If you want to check them out before they head back to Europe, they’re at the Foggy Dew (803 King St. W.) on Sunday at 4 p.m.
I was hoping to catch the full Big Sugar show at the Sound Academy, but only arrived for a bit of it. That was enough to discover Gordie Johnson can still pluck the strings pretty damn great. Looks like they’ll be making big noise around town again and that’s good news.
Adrian Brijbassi 