Jinja Safari - JinjaSafari

Tue 28th Sep, 2010 in Music Reviews

With extraordinary live reviews and hype-galour, Jinja Safari’s self-titled debut EP doesn’t quite live up to expectations.

Sure, Peter Pan is as catchy as hell. The happiness and catchiness just tires a little, leaving some bland songs behind. There is only so long one can sit around a camp fire before they get sick of the smoke.

Peter Pan is the highlight of the EP, as Pepa Knight’s sitar gives way to lovely vocal harmonies between himself and Marcus Azon. It’s cute and gets stuck in your head for days, but as with most of those songs, lacks substance. Delicate glockenspiel meets commanding sitar and tribal drums, and with two of five songs gone the best moment has already past.

Forest Eyes follows and fails to capitalise and build upon the solid foundation set. An unbelievably irritating singing style ruins the chorus; it is at about this point that their sound falls apart into a chirpy-just-because, impossible-to-sadden vibe. Think Ned Flanders in some Simpsons episodes.

By the time Stepping Stones rolls around, it seems unrecoverable. Whilst somewhat true, the song is commendable insomuch as it experiments with a more naked, hollow sound.

The release simply has a strange feel to it. Jam-packed with happiness, it wears so much that it becomes depressing. Maybe amidst gloomy albums such as The National and Interpol, a catchy, upbeat pop release was needed. Maybe the something special that Jinja Safari have live can’t be recorded. Or perhaps Peter Pan should have just been a single, instead of rushing into their first release.