Concert Review: Jade Imagine Pulp Rough Trade With Garage Glam

I love Jade Imagine’s sound and vibe. More importantly, I love how they make me feel like I have a sound and vibe, which is not easy. To enter their show at Rough Trade was to enter both an aesthetic and atmosphere. Their music is the epitome of laying into your tension, and pancaking them with garage-pop and the syrupy vocals of Jade, herself.

Jade McInally is a cross between Joni Mitchell and Blondie. (AMAZING COMBO!) She has a smokey voice that reminds me of Mitchell, and her ability to make sitting on a bench and watching people feel like a socratic act. Her voice is naturally philosophical, which balances Jade’s Blondie-side, which is sultry but confrontational in vocality. You never know if she is going to give you her caressing hand or a fist filled with flowers, but it is the vocal line between pensive and punchy that leaves you enthralled.

I kept on thinking of “pulp” when I heard Jade Imagine. From “Walkin Around” to “Stay Away”, their melodies swim like pulp in a tall, cold glass of orange juice; gathering, floating, and swirling under Jade’s voice. Together they form drinkable tracks that remind you of how easily you get through a hard day. For most of us, no matter what bothers us, we simply get by, and whether or not to celebrate or acknowledge that strength goes unquestioned. You should get by, but Jade Imagine sings songs for those that wonder when “getting by” starts to feel better.

The other reason I compare Jade Imagine to Blondie and Joni Mitchell is that they blend sadness with glamorous. From “You & I” to “Esteem”, there music is not depressing as much as its surfs in uneasiness. Through acoustics that swing like tires tied to trees, you feel like their guitars awaken the inner child you put to sleep everyday because you have to meet with your mean boss or call an “emotional ceasefire” with a boyfriend/ friend you have been fighting with. To Jade Imagine, you should give yourself a sonic pat on that back for doing both and staying sane, and their music does just that! For More Information On Jade Imagine Click Here.