[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he sound of Manchester is alive and well in Australia. Sydney trio Jagwar Ma make the kind of bouncy dance rock suited for the Hacienda, taking Madchester and baggy vibes and filtering them through a modern electronic shopping center of sound. Word on the street is that the band name derives from synth/guitarist Jono Ma’s surname and some painting of a jaguar once found by the side of the road. Well fucking alright. This kitten has claws, don’t you know. Jagwar Ma have no Boston dates on the horizon just yet, but we’ll be screaming “Man I Need” from the rooftops once that shit gets locked in.
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[dropcap]J[/dropcap]agwar Ma is an Australian rock outfit from Sydney. Their debut album, Howlin, was released in 2013, garnering critical acclaim, as well as praise from Noel Gallagher and comparisons to the Madchester and Baggy music genres of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band’s name is derived from Jono Ma’s surname and a painting of a jaguar found by the side of a road and given to the band by a friend. Winterfield states “He kinda gave it to us and it became this sort of omen. I took a photo of it and had it as the background on my phone, it was a weird thing.”