Album Review: Jaguar Love - Hologram Jams

The sheer mainstream sensibilities of Jaguar Love’s new album could have single-handedly killed the underground credibility of Jonny Whitney’s previous venture in The Blood Brothers. This is not to say that this is a weak record. In fact, 'Hologram Jams' is the most dangerous sounding indie-pop record since Test Icicles' 'For Screening Purposes Only', but the legendary underground status of The Blood Brothers would no doubt be knocked if it wasn’t for the fact that 'Hologram Jams' is so brilliantly satirical.

It’s with this tongue-in-cheek attitude that Jaguar Love really excel. The opening track is characteristically ludicrous; Jonny screams “I Started A Fire” over an unbelievably cheesy keyboard riff, which is a perfect demonstration of their juxtaposed dark lyrics and sugary musical style. However, little flourishes of their past occasionally break through. This is showcased in its purest form during ‘Polaroids and Red Wine’, in which a Ke$ha-style rap about “puking on the lawn” crashes into one of the heaviest guitar solos imaginable. It’s all rather unsuspectingly clever while remaining wonderfully relevant. By the end of the third track, ‘Cherry Soda’, Hologram Jams marks Jaguar Love as the potential vocoded anti-heroes of modern pop music.