RADAR: The Jezebels

Sometimes -- just sometimes -- you're the "It Band" for a reason. For Australia's The Jezabels a series of three well-received EP's now give way to their dramatic alt-pop debut longplayer Prisoner (just out in Australia, U.S. TBA), an album that plays out like some deliciously massive mashup of Muse, The Cranberries and Chrissi Hynde's Pretenders. Some songs take their time to worm their way into your psyche like a persistent tug on the sleeve. Jezebel songs like the epic alt-pop anthems "Rosebud" and "Endless Summer" simply grab you by the neck, give you a sweet, swift kick in the keister and then send you happily on your way. The oblique melodies are ten feet tall, the instrumentation sleek and agile and frontwoman Hayley Mary immediately goes to the head of the Charismatic Female Singer class, walking the tightrope between vamp and vixen: graceful and elegant one minute, howling and fiery the next.

The Jezabels - "Rosebud" (from Prisoner)

The Jezabels - "Endless Summer" (from Prisoner)