The Jezabels

Few bands have made more of the past six months than Sydney quartet The Jezabels. Since releasing their third EP, Dark Storm, in August 2010, the accolades and achievements have accumulated at an astonishing rate.

Dark Storm debuted at number 1 on the Australian iTunes chart, and in the Top 10 on the Alternative Album iTunes chart in the UK, US, New Zealand, Norway and Germany. Their Australian headline tour in support of the EP was a complete sell out, and also featured appearances at festivals such as Wave Rock Weekender, Peats Ridge and Falls. The band’s international reputation got a helping hand courtesy of BMX legend Danny MacAskill, who personally picked the song “A Little Piece” to soundtrack one of his clips, which has been viewed by more than six million people on YouTube. And in October the band performed a series of stand-out shows at last year’s CMJ music festival in New York, followed by their first-ever tour of Canada.

2011, meanwhile, got off to a flying start when two of The Jezabels’ songs were voted into the prestigious Triple J Hottest 100 by fans across Australia, with “Easy To Love” landing at number 49, and “Mace Spray” an astonishing 16.  This, of course, from a band that had already achieved so much prior to the release of Dark Storm. By the time they issued their second EP, She’s So Hard, in November 2009, they had toured Australia supporting Tegan & Sara, Katie Noonan and Josh Pyke, and as headliners in their own right (selling out shows nationally in the process). “Hurt Me”, the lead single from She’s So Hard, received heavy rotation on radio in Australia and abroad, a feat also achieved by its follow-up, “Easy To Love”.

Not surprisingly, The Jezabels’ fanbase has grown every step of the way – sometimes in the most unexpected places. “I think the biggest spin-out was when someone from Germany sent us a YouTube clip of them dancing to one of our songs,” grins 23-year-old vocalist Hayley Mary. According to 24-year-old keyboardist Heather Shannon, the constant touring in the lead-up to the release of Dark Storm gave the band – completed by guitarist Sam Lockwood (24) and drummer Nik Kaloper (25) – a much better understanding of what makes them tick, and how they can best harness their creativity.

This year has seen The Jezabels return to the US to appear at the South By Southwest music festival, while in May they will tour the UK and Europe for the first time. In between they will perform their biggest-ever sold out headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne, before knuckling down to record their debut album. It’s a long way from The Jezabels’ humble beginnings in a Sydney University band competition in 2007.

“None of us had any expectations at the start of what we were going to do or where we were going to go,” smiles Shannon. “We’ve achieved everything we could have hoped for 10 times over!”