WORTH A LOOK?: ****
TRACKLIST: Know My Name; Who Died And Made You King; Swallow; Drawing Lines; Trigger Happy; Loud; Little Fires; Cut; Not Yours; Man-made Monster
Little Fires was the jury winner in this year’s Eurovision selection show Australia Decides and it was our pick too thanks to its Beatles/Radiohead vibe springing into uptempo angst.
- Read on for reasons including how this is good enough to find an international audience
We thought it was good enough to win Eurovision but we’ll never know because it finished 3rd overall after only ranking 4th in the televote.
Jonze was a new name to us but she has previously competed in Australia Decides with Rabbit Hole 2 years earlier placing 6th.
Her performance of Little Fires was memorable for being both brilliantly sung and visually striking as her skirt appeared to go up in flames.
It’s the best track on this her debut album using the Jaguar Jonze stage name but is very much in keeping with this fine collection of indie rock songs, sung expertly and lyrically conveying a rejection of oppression and the patriarchy and a celebration of survival.
The album’s title refers to a survival tactic that the artist employed as a survivor of childhood abuse: a freeze response to any safety threats, like a frightened rabbit.
Jonze has been a leading voice for change in the Australian #MeToo movement and this album is very much the artist – real name Deena Lynch – finding strength in anger.
Particularly vivid is final track Man-made Monster which explains: “It’s always been a man-made monster only a woman can destroy.”
It was a real shame Jonze didn’t win Australia Decides because she’s deserving of an international audience and we think this album is strong enough to propel her towards them too.
What next for her? She’s made real progress in Australia Decides and we’d suggest at least 1 more crack at Eurovision glory.
monstagigz 
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