It’s a largely hip and young crowd that fronts this evening’s precedings at The Clubhouse, with many a smack of red lipstick and tight, black jeans. Your scribe is taking in the uber-cool surroundings of this Valley venue for the first time, enjoying the dim lighting, bountiful, fluffy foot-poof things and the ramshackle paintings on the wall. The one with the faceless cowboy and his horse have my particular attention but not for too long.

The Jezabels are a humble but unique talent; a Sydney foursome of twenty somethings who have delighted audiences over the past couple of years with a collection instantly likeable pop-rock numbers and toured with the impressive likes of Sparkadia, Tegan and Sarah and Josh Pyke. Headlining their own East coast tour to tout their latest EP She’s So Hard, the two lads and lasses greet their eager crowd with sincere thanks before getting down to business.

Front woman Hayley possesses all the charm and suave execution that a leading lady should. She’s sassy, vibrant and mesmeric with a voice oft compared to Chrissie Hynde and PJ Harvey. But tonight she transfixes the crowd with static moves like Karen O and spine-tingling wails reminiscent of Katy Steele. But the raw passion that Hayley injects into each song is her own and is beautiful to witness. A band that is relatively stripped back makes a hell of a lot of noise, with a bare electric guitar handled by Sam, a keyboard deftly and dynamically captained by Heather and one of the most basic live drumkit setups I have ever beheld with Nik at the helm. There are a few feedback issues here and there but are overcome quickly with barely an eyelid batted; the audience only has eyes and ears for this tight, young outfit giving it their all in the inner-city heat.

Crowd pleasers “Hurt Me,” “Disco Biscuit Love” and “Hands Tied” are trotted out in between others and given a satifyingly vigourous rendition much to the delight of the eager few at the front of the room, who have sung and swayed to every number so far. When the last chord is struck and strummed, the last cymbal crashed, and the last warble from the fiery songstress lilts into the air, The Jezabels are fixed in every present mind as a rare, engaging, enigmatic young act and it’s this writers hunch that their progress will be watched very closely indeed from here on in.

- Carley Hall