Not big on small talk, the rather austere Hayley Mary of Sydney, AUS’s Jezabels stalked the stage of the venue called Venue in Vancouver, on May 1, clutching her mic whilst belting out indie pop at rocktacular decibels.

Backed by able drummer Nik Kaloper – whose monster thuds lend the Jezabels a more meaty sound – Sam Lockwood on guitar (who offers a touch o’ goth) and Heather Shannon on piano, Mary and Co. ran through tracks from debut full-lengther Prisoner (“Endless Summer”, “Hurt Me” and “Rosebud” for example) as well as snatches from earlier EPs including Dark Storm. Though musically their songs end up sounding a bit samey, it’s Mary’s voice, a sort of Florence-meets-Siouxsie-meets-Pat Benetar thing, that escalates matters. Warm them all up a bit, encourage Mary to peer out from her floppy fringe and make eye contact,  and the Jezabels could be that much better than good. \m/