Sounds like…

Slacker ukulele pop.

The review

Jordana popped onto my radar earlier this year with a fantastic looping slacker rock track ‘Crunch’. It reminded me a little of popular pop-rockers The Cardigans with its tight drum loops, wispy vocals and sharp guitar work. Whilst its one of the most immediate tracks on the album, it does introduce you to the deeper world of Jordana. This album is all about making loops of sound in your bedroom.

Across the 13 tracks, much of the albums sound is built up guitar, drum or synth loops. Almost every sound feels home-crafted and homemade even if it is not. That goes for the radio-friendly tracks of ‘Crunch’ and ‘Jackie’s 15’ right across to the melodic instrumentals of ‘Losing It’. It feels effortless, catchy, airy and vibrant – often like songs are playing through a loudspeaker tannoy in a large public space. This lends a dreamy quality to half of the album, whilst the other half is focused on more tight-nit pop-rock.

It is here where you may find that you gravitate to one of Jordana’s styles over the other. She doesn’t mingle them too often and so you’ll move from quirky ethereal pop but depressed looping guitar riffs with little jump between. I personally feel like each song has a faded Instagram filter production over it and that keeps the sound together but your mileage may vary slightly depending on your tastes. I did find the sweet spots in ‘Classical notions of Happiness’ for me where when Jordana lent into the slacker breezy nature of her writing and performing though.

Tracks like ‘Canvas’ feel seeped in emotion because of how they are produced and performed. It feels like a raw demo of a polished performance. ‘Calvary’ and ‘I Wanna’ take that same production and make it sweet and delicate which also works really well. The prettiness of the entire thing sells a lie that the music is uplifting and gentile whilst Jordana’s lyrics tell a different story entirely.

It took me a few listens to get into ‘Classical Notions of Happiness’ but each time I return I enjoy it more and more. Jordana has added herself to the collection of indie homemade artists you’d do best to follow and enjoy. I’m really intrigued to see where her music takes her next.

Recommended track: Canvas

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