Jazmine Mary — Seagull

On Jazmine Mary’s ruminative new single “Seagull”, the artist makes a poet’s choices with lyrics that would fit in the cannon of Aldous Harding, or even a little bit Lorde, and twists their voice like a chopped ’n screwed Fiona Apple. Usually when I write to review a song I’m looking to uncover meaning in those lyrics, but instead I find myself accepting that the inscrutable nature of “Seagull” means I’m just going to have to let it be what it is- because ‘Hound dog/ flower power/ hound dog/ flower power’ has never made so much sense than in the place where Jazmine Mary has put it.

Sandwiched between soft drums and a piano, delicate wind instruments flesh out “Seagull”. Maybe I look to the video to make sense of something I can’t explain, where two dancers pose, hold, and lift the musician in a display of strength and comfort. The lighting of Jazmine Mary’s eyes up close as the three of them sway together is the final piece of a puzzle I can’t solve- that “Seagull” is a space where everything is exactly where it ought to be.

Jazmine Mary is on tour throughout July in support of her new album Dog out June 2. Tickets available here.

Review by C. Billing.