I did this a while back now. My mind hasn't changed. My original tag line was 'forest rock needs a bit of logging'. Seriously, this feels like anti-music. I appreciate musicianship and all those fancy things that make those waves coming out of the radio palatable, but Jinja Safari annoy me. How is this innovative? Its just the same fleet foxes/bon iver/mumford & sons/vampire weekend crap all over again. And to title it 'forest rock', makes me want to punch a tree in the face.
With the benefit of hindsight, I think I was being too kind in the review.
Marcus Azon and Pepa Knight of Jinja Safari have come a long way in a short period of time. Triple J awarded the band the privilege of opening this year’s Splendour In The Grass festival, they secured the support on the upcoming Art Vs Science tour and also invented the genre of ‘forest rock’ – a whirlwind coming of age, particularly when you consider that the group only played its first show in May. Their debut self-titled EP reveals glimpses of both prodigious talent and slick marketing. The first two tracks, Mud and the lauded Peter Pan, are enjoyable enough, making good use of non-conventional instruments. However, the EP becomes weighed down by complex songs with overwrought instrumentation that becomes increasingly distracting, such as on Vagabond and Forest Eyes. Clearly in the mould of Vampire Weekend and Animal Collective, it’s hard to shake the feeling the Jinja Safari are exploring all too familiar territory.
Originally in Rave Magazine.
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