Mixing classic pop and disco with an expansive, emotionally sophisticated attitude to indie rock, The Jezabels present like few bands in recent years. Onstage, they’re intensity personified, with a presence and purpose so emotionally raw, brittle, directed and genuine that they make most other groups look contrived. Hayley and Heather shared a childhood in Byron Bay on the NSW coastline.

While their peers were getting high and joining hardcore bands, these two misfits were growing up strange in an isolated town, until they met at a talent quest. When they left their hometown to study, the girls met fellow Sydney Uni scholars Nik K and Sam L. Their bass-less arrangement is comprised of Heather’s Conservatorium trained piano playing, Sam’s intuitive rhythm guitar, anchored by Nik’s nuanced, explosive drumming and capped by Hayley’s incredible presence and unlikely voice.

In their relatively short lifespan, they’ve toured with Tegan & Sara, Josh Pyke, Bluejuice, Sparkadia among others and played a bunch of great festival gigs (Big Day Out, Soundwave, Playground Weekender, Pyramid Rock, Come Together, Festival of The Sun) but the best is most certainly yet to come for this wonderful young band.

Their sophisticated song writing combines with Hayley’s scorching intensity to make them a potentially iconic group for young for whom the group have an obviously directed focus.

At live shows, crowds are struck by the energy, intellect, ambition and emotional honesty they bring to the stage. An audience can’t help but invest in them.