While their first record ‘Howlin’’ felt like a hugely appropriate title, given the ‘bust onto the scene’ nature of the release and their emergence, Jagwar Ma’s second LP Every Now And Then’ feels just as suited. It’s been only a little over three years since the local duo released that first album, and the wait for new material has for fans felt as long as time itself. While the light at the end of the Jagwar Ma tunnel emerged in July of this year with the release of the record’s first cut, ‘O B 1’, Friday saw the surprise dropping of a record that seems to be pretty worth the wait.

While Future Classic is a label that has made itself known for a roster of innovative electronic music makers, Jagwar Ma has always been on the more rock end of the spectrum. From the get go, and the album’s opening track ‘Falling’, we’re treated to an intensely electronic build cut from synth sounds, alongside the echoing of these traditional band instruments. This relationship between live and created sound is what keeps ‘Every Now And Then’ feeling fresh all the way through. Steel drums mixed with the phased out vocals of ‘Say What You Feel’, a straight up techno breakdown with some vocoder thrown in for good measure on ‘Loose Ends’, the drum and bass style percussion and future-bass blips of ‘Batter Up’, and the super house nature of the record’s closer ‘Colours of Paradise’ are just some examples of this blending done super effectively throughout. In recent years, bands with this electronic feel have become more and more common, and the lines between different genres has, as is also becoming more common, started to blur.

https://soundcloud.com/jagwar-ma/ob1

With so many different acts chasing a sound similar to this however, it’s also sadly understandable that some of their sounds also blend together. While ‘Every Now And Then’ is an incredibly easy record to listen to, with a bunch of sounds and tropes typical of many different genres of electronic music, it doesn’t set itself apart from the crowds chasing something similar. Everything feels super safe, and none of the sounds that we hear on the record feel like they ever really reach any kind of climax. Effects and rhythms taken from other electronic genres sound almost stereotypical – and not like there’s been too much effort put into it at all.

https://soundcloud.com/jagwar-ma/give-me-a-reason-every-now-and-then

This isn’t to rag on the album too hard though, don’t get me wrong. It’s fun, and there are some super groovy moments and a few hits, but after a few listens I didn’t really find myself going back for more. It’s been three years since their first record, and while it’s exciting to see more Jagwar Ma on the table, maybe this is a case of too much time in the oven.