Jar of Blind Flies have been quiet these past couple of years. But ya know, so has the world. Like a lot of the scene during the pandemic, without gigs and festivals to play, the trio have been busy little agoraphobes. They’ve used the time to write new material as well as hone some of the old bangers, working on their debut album and gearing up for its release.
So it’s promising to see how well their set goes down with the crowd at the Green Door Store tonight. Opening with ‘Playground King’ – one of the grunge band’s more chart-friendly singles with its anthemic chorus – immediately grabs people’s attention.
‘Black Fish Brain’ is the calm before the storm and then ‘Dolly’ screeches into being. One of their first tracks and still going strong, it showcases frontwoman Maddy Jarvis’ talent for lyrics. “Skin burns like plastic in the heat,” reigns overhead and the fuzzy distortion is perfectly complemented by her yearning vocals and the relentless, driving drums.
It’s always a good sign when the drummer disrobes and Marley Perez doesn’t disappoint as JOBF break into ‘Crawl Back Inside’ and he starts wailing on the skins. The tempo and tsunami of sound inspire the crowd at the front to start moshing while the rest of the audience is a sea of undulating heads and throbbing shoulders.
When the guitar is put down it’s a hint that something different is coming. ‘Angels’ is the penultimate track and, unencumbered by an instrument, Maddy can really let her lungs fly. And she makes a hell of a lot of noise for such a little creature. Her powerful vocals are bordering on operatic and glue the audience to the Green Door’s cobbled floor as bassist – the dark magician Marlon ‘Doctor’ Payne – stretches his fingers with some ethereal harmonics.
They close the set with ‘Far From Land’, which promises to be an album highlight and worthy of repeat plays with the lyrics’ emotive imagery and the suspenseful beat that builds to a raw climax. Despite much clamour from the crowd, JOBF don’t play an encore, leaving us hungry for more. Fair enough. Let’s just hope the album drops soon.
Green Door Store, Thursday 24th February 2022
Photos by Francesca Moore
