Live Review: Nai Palm, Jaala

Jaala bounded onto stage with her usual quirky pizazz and warmed up an otherwise reserved crowd on this sultry December eve. The Melbournite and roomie of the main act showed her unique flair through a captivating solo performance.

Jaala danced up and down the guitar and threw her voice every which way on songs like Salt Shaker. But her true character came out in her rambling monologues between songs. “New Year's resolution,” she said with a choir doll voice. “Don't give up.” Laughing maniacally, she closed the show by saying, “I was never gonna give up on music.”

Then Nai Palm revealed herself as the Oxford Art Factory’s curtains opened. The lead singer of neo-soul outfit Hiatus Kaiyote has been going out on her own for a year now. Known for her huge range, crystal clear notes and lyrical topics spanning the world over and beyond, this performance proved just as breathtaking.

Without the aid of the usual bass, keys and drums, Nai Palm breathed new life into Mobius Streak, a song from her band's first album. There was a feeling of floating across a lake looking up into a shifting sky full of shooting stars and vivid constellations, created by the undulating chorus of Laura, Jayjay and Jace: Hiatus Kaiyote’s backup singers.

“That song is about Adventure Time and influenced by MC Escher,” Nai said before moving into a new song. The group's cover of Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland was a revelation, spiritual and soulful with a stripped back guitar and ambrosial harmonies.​
Nai Palm and her backing vocalists intensified the dread of David Bowie's BlackStar through mixing in dreamlike vocals. Then they closed out the show with a smorgasbord of '90s covers, interlaced with old Hiatus Kaiyote songs like Borderline with the Line and a new song, Home.