Jonquil — One Hundred Suns

Ezra Koenig and co. have inspired a whole bunch of people with their bright, shiny take on Africa, and Jonquil is one of those bands.

Jonquil’s “One Hundred Suns” EP features everything you’d expect from an Africa-minded indie band: quirky melodic structures, rumbling rhythms and airy guitar lines. Jonquil’s base genre is more dance-oriented indie than Vampire Weekend’s, meaning this recalls Yeasayer strongly as well. The songs are more grounded than Yeasayer’s fantastical work, while beefier than Vampire’s work.

The highlight here is “I Know I Don’t Know,” which uses some fleet bass work and an intricate full-band arrangement to float a vocal melody that sticks in my head. It feels the most fully formed of all the tunes here. The other highlight is “Lions (Bonus Track)” which is a Parisian street waltz for accordion and chanted voices. It has nothing to do with Africa, but it’s one of the most infectious tracks here.

“One Hundred Suns” is a good EP, and worth picking up if you’re into the African-influenced subgenre of indie rock.  —Stephen Carradini

This article appears in Feb 16-22, 2011.