Listen: Berlin Bar Hounds - "Heights"

It's been a bit since we've heard from former Jinja Safari member Jacob Borg's side project Berlin Bar Hounds but luckily for us the wait's come to an end. While most of Borg's output so far has made extensive use of his Matt Berninger-esque baritone, "Heights" offers up a new dimension in Borg's vocal capabilities. Though he rarely if ever sang as a member of Jinja Safari, with Berlin Bar Hounds its evident it wasn't due to lack of ability. "Heights" is Borg's strongest outing to date as he aims higher both in terms of his vocal register and the song's energy. It begins at a steady plod but gathers up steam that's sure to pull you in. Borg's project has largely been defined by a quiet, sparse calm but on "Heights" he goes full on indie rock subverting his characteristic tension/release with new bits and bobs like the use of samples and more dynamic builds. With the end of Jinja Safari firmly behind him, hopefully we'll be hearing a lot more from Berlin Bar Hounds as "Heights" is pretty indicative that Borg is widely capable of reaching his own great songwriting heights.

Listen to Berlin Bar Hounds' new single "Heights":

Pitstop: Cavez

I was first introduced to Cavez (pronounced Caves) the project of Australian based singer/songwriter Bryce Hutchings through Jacob Borg of Jinja Safari's solo project Berlin Bar Hounds back in November of 2014 with a simple appeal to listen to his demo for a song "Idealistic Desire" and promises that the man's voice was amazing. He wasn't wrong. I was instantly taken with the track and the only thing that  really kept me from writing about it was the fact that I remained largely unable to host it here. But I was gobsmacked nonetheless and even reached out to Hutchings to see if there were plans to release more than single, stunning demo. Hutchings promised more to follow and fast forward to today where Hutchings has let free "Famili'ar", his second demo.

From "Idealistic Desire" which easily recalls the sparse beauty of Bon Iver circa For Emma, Forever Ago, Hutchings' pretty much offers up all we need to know. His lyric sprawl is slow and deliberate, his vocals aching and effective in their rawness, and his fingerstyle guitar work understated but nimble.

While "Familiar" arrives with a similar bare bones approach, it's notably warmer both in sound and delivery. "Familiar" ends up being more of a vocal showcase for Hutchings instead of an overtly lyrical one. While not rushing headlong into pop conventions, "Familiar" features much more animated performance and swifter build than the glacial pacing of "Idealistic Desire".

It's not much but the combination of "Idealistic Desire" and "Familiar" highlight Bryce Hutchings' versatility as both a songwriter and performer. They may just be demos but they're absolutely enthralling in simplicity and approach. No one but Hutchings can quite say what they'll end up sounding like ultimately but they manage to be more engaging than some many layered works from other artists. Hutchings displays a wealth of talent in these two demos and my hope is either that he doesn't wait to long to offer up another or that he takes a similar plunge as his friend Jacob Borg and begins working on and releasing music in earnest. No one can say but until we know more about Hutchings' Cavez project we do at least have these two stellar demos which showcase a beguiling singer/songwriter with an incredible vocal presence.



You can listen to "Idealistic Desire" here.

Listen: Berlin Bar Hounds - "Skeleton"

It seems like ages ago now but back in 2014, the members of Australia jungle pop outfit Jinja Safari started to emerge from a break after their debut self-titled full length record with solo and side projects. Pepa Knight and Marcus Azon's side projects were more or less a given considering their roles as co-songwriters within the group but Jacob Borg's emergence as Berlin Bar Hounds was perhaps most surprising because the man was the only member of Jinja Safari without a microphone.

But Jacob Borg decided with a heck of a lot of prodding from Azon to give the singer/songwriter thing a shot and released "Le Rambles" and I'm certainly glad he did. In addition to revealing Borg as a decent songwriter it also showed that Borg possesses a svelte baritone that's sure to draw comparisons to The National's Matt Berninger. While his duties as part of one of the most energetic live bands has probably interfered with the more atmospheric appeal of Berlin Bar Hounds, the dissolution of Jinja Safari finds Borg back once again with a new tune. "Skeleton" is a much more rambunctious offering than Borg's past efforts and effectively utilizes his percussive chops. Where "Le Rambles" warmed up into his pop trimmings, "Skeleton" begins with them right out of the gate - blending keys, drums, bass, and a slight electronic hum that grows more and more prominent as the song progresses into full on synth melodies in the climactic instrumental breaks.

Listen/Watch: Jinja Safari - "Find My Way"

After releasing their debut full length self-titled record in 2013 (a record which has yet to enjoy a release further than their native Oz) and touring around it for much of the subsequent year, Jinja Safari entered a hiatus of sorts during which several of their members embarked on secondary musical adventures. Drummer Jacob Borg unearthed Berlin Bar Hounds, Marcus Azon teamed up with YesYou to form the much slicker pop outfit Cold Clinical Love, and co-frontman Pepa Knight out-paced his band members by releasing his debut Hypnotized Vol. 1 EP, a record which he was able to tour in support of several times before rejoining the rest of Jinja Safari for their much anticipated reunion.



With everyone's musical wanderlust more or less sated, Jinja Safari has returned with brand new single "Find My Way". While still employing much of the technicolor melodies Jinja Safari has built much of their tropical party pop around, there's hints of those other projects here - namely in Marcus Azon's more mainstream pop delivery on the verses. And yet with it's stratospheric swoops and positively resplendent harmonies in addition to it's assemblage of instruments, there's no doubt "Find My Way" is a Jinja Safari song through and through - a welcome addition to their catalog of eternal summer beach party folk pop. With it's first and oft repeated line of "Now I'll find my way back to you", "Find My Way" is a pretty apropos way to mark the band members re-invigorated return to each other and Jinja Safari's first new song in two years. Welcome back, Jinja Safari. You've got a whole lot of celebrating to do.

Get a sense of what hanging out with the globetrotting Aussies is like in their official video for the new single: