Jagwar Ma. Photo courtesy of the band.

This week’s Listening Party focuses on Australian band Jagwar Ma. Listening Party is a curated weekly column promoting music discovery and encouraging concert-going. Featuring someone we’ve been jamming out to and we recommend to the masses, each Listening Party artist has an upcoming show at a local NYC venue. Grab your headphones and read on.



WHO:  Jono Ma, Gabriel Winterfield, Jack Freeman

THEY SAY:  “Alternative / Indie / Dance”

WE SAY:  Retro-rock inspired fusion dance floor music

FROM: Sydney, Australia

ONLINE: http://jagwarma.com/ 

LABELS: Future Classic, Mom+Pop

Recent Work:  2013’s spectacular Howlin

Upcoming Show:  Next Monday at Rough Trade ($15) and Tuesday at Bowery Ballroom ($15)

It’s hard to put your finger on exactly what Jagwar Ma accomplishes with their sound. They’ve got all the makings of a great indie rock band – heavy guitar, thumping baseline. Then the synths, pedals, and electronic flourishes and fillers come into play, twisting their psychedelic sound into a more ’80s frame, while their headspace still remains very modern. Got all of that? So basically they’re making sounds that span several decades in music, neatly fitting it into pop-sheened, dance-ready (but still spacey) anthems. We think they’re one of the best new bands of the year and are happy they’re back in NYC, bringing their energetic and sometimes elaborate live performance to us next week!