Jaala's Joonya Spirit feels like a concealed middle finger held in the pocket of an oversized op-shop jacket worn by someone much cooler than you. There's a prickish quality that's intriguing rather than alarming, even if you know getting close might hurt a little.
Tempos flare between slam dance, soul and social dissonance. Tracks are quickly irreverent and seditiously relevant, bounced along by Cosima Jaala's quirky delivery and salty, kawaii-killer attitude. It seems sort of grubby and immediate, but wipe away some of that oddly glamorous grime and there's a thousand facets to be seen. Most of the songs are restless with purpose, the sort of cohesive flux brought out in zoetrope, and it makes the timing all the more admirable for the cohesion it brings.
More Mangelwurzel than Jaala's 2015 debut Hard Hold, Joonya Spirit manages to straddle both scenes, splicing the saccharine with the incisive. Carolyn Schofield's new synths slot seamlessly into the existing synergistic dissonance Maria Moles and Jaala create together, adding a pop quality akin to an unexpected balloon explosion. The overall effect is a compelling kind of propulsion, jagged and smoothly erratic.
Innocently itself and cool without care, Joonya Spirit is a confident release that deftly sidesteps the second-album slouch.