The band is described as “Joanna Newsom throwing a party with Stereolab at Erykah Badu’s house. In Japan.” And it’s hard to deny, what with frontperson Jessica Stuart’s ethereal voice and her instrument of choice—the koto (a 13-string Japanese zither.) The Toronto-exported jazzy-folk power trio made its debut in 2010 with the critically-acclaimed album, Kid Dream. The JSF is currently on tour promoting its new album, Two Sides to Every Story—mixed by Ian Bodzasi (Sam Roberts, Hey Rosetta)—and the first single, “Don’t Ya” made Song of the Week on CBC Radio One. “We definitely thrive in a performance situation. We play the songs slightly different every time and we play off of each other,” says Stuart. “It’s a high energy and fun show, there will definitely be a lot of people bobbing heads and tapping feet or dancing.” The eclectic group hasn’t been in eastern Canada in over a year so don’t miss it.
Thu May 23, 7:30pm, Company House, 2202 Gottingen Street, $8/pwyc
This article appears in May 23-29, 2013.