Jahcoozi

So let's get the obvious out of the way first: Yes, Jahcoozi's singer is from Sri Lanka, the group plays a glitched-up brand of electro, and (perhaps as a concession) all of its label-sanctioned press materials mention M.I.A. by name. But the similarities between the two artists are, as that...

By J. Edward Keye

November 10, 2005

[
        {
          "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
          "component": "16971022",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "15769925",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Rectangle 2x - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782206",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782207",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

So let's get the obvious out of the way first: Yes, Jahcoozi's singer is from Sri Lanka, the group plays a glitched-up brand of electro, and (perhaps as a concession) all of its label-sanctioned press materials mention M.I.A. by name. But the similarities between the two artists are, as that brief description might suggest, fleeting. For one thing, there's not much on Pure Breed Mongrel resembling pop music. A product of Berlin's swelling electro-hop scene (see also: RQM and Quio), Jahcoozi is far more interested in making its songs cough, sputter, and stall than in hitting a smooth cruising altitude. "Fish" opens with Sasha Perera's vocals cut up and re-pasted, a long string of open vowels that flutters and pops with wild abandon. And even though "Heal the World" feints toward dancehall, with its giddy punk! punk! rhythms and Perera's lilting cadence, less than one minute in, Perera's voice is cut to ribbons and scattered like sand across the beat. The one drawback is that Perera's lyrics are often too goofy to warrant such reckless experimentation. For all of Jahcoozi's sonic stubbornness, songs like "The Bouncer Who Turned Good" and "Ghostbuster Generation" are too buried in cheek and kitsch to be redeemed. This winking verse makes "galang-a-lang-a-lang" sound like high poetry.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of South Florida, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.