Listening to Jaga Jazzist gives the strongest possible impression of a band at the top of their game. They have mastered the art of making pretty complex music sound like the most instinctive thing, and on ‘Starfire’ they have enhanced their sound still further with a few exotic additions. The big spaces are indicative of the time Jaga’s main man Lars Horntveth has spent in Los Angeles, but the addition of a zither in ‘Big City Music’ and some strong, Indian flavours to the musical language of ‘Prungen’ gives the music a cosmopolitan feel. Jaga have the talent of moving their music between intricate and thrilling drum-driven moments or brief nocturnal city scenes, and there are some really good psychedelic bits in the longer tracks where the buzzing synth sounds are encouraged to cut loose. This is cosmic music in the best 70s tradition, but it wears modern clothes and sounds like nothing else!
