Dora Jar left Boston just over a week ago to kick off a nearly month-long tour with
The Army, The Navy, a barebones acoustic pop duo from LA. Admittedly, my first
exposure to Dora Jar’s music was in the car on the drive to the show, but after
spending an hour in the room with the depth of her set, I am struck by how even
her choice of opener seems an intentional way to draw the most from the format of
the bill.

The Army, The Navy warmed up the audience with an intimate, quiet set featuring
two acoustic guitars and two talented singers. Like a pop-influenced Haley
Heynderickx or Phoebe Bridgers, the delicately fingerpicked guitars set a cozy and
homey tone for the duo’s deeply personal and exceptionally transparent lyrics, with
an ear to the intimacy of the routines you find yourself in as a romance blooms.
Their strength lies in the interplay between their two guitars and vocals, supporting
the truth of their lyricism with the romance of their melodies.

The pop undertones between the two sets complimented each other exceedingly
well. The drastic shift in energy with Dora Jar’s arrival to the stage was offset by
the underlying similarities which made the artists seem such a natural pairing. The
pop inspiration maintained the logic of the bill, even as Dora Jar belted across the
stage playing infectious riffs on lead guitars which she seemed to exchange
between every song. These shifting instruments allowed her to realize the great
breadth of her music, from nu-metal style riffs that were positively moshable, to
quirky up-beat recession pop, to introspective singer-songwriter tunes which
utilized her backing guitar to set a melancholy tone. More than once did she
perfectly execute a fully thrashable scream. The through line between these
shifting tones was her positive and energetic stage presence, continually getting the
crowd to laugh and shifting the tone across her wide range to make space for the
next song.

Across every style her ear for composition was sharp, using each of her talented
band members only when the song called for it, allowing each to stand out in the
context of the song when used so intentionally. On certain slower and atmospheric
songs, for instance, the drummer might do a run on the cymbals to create an uneasy
tension, where in another place he may build up the energy of the song while
leaving space for the throaty bass to add some raw emotion to the climax,
contrasting with the versatile guitar setting the atmosphere for her talented and
wide-ranging vocal performance. Certainly her best songs were those which were
able to bridge the gaps between her many styles and pay off the depth of her range.
“Quiver,” for example, utilizes well the differences between a softly lit vocal loop
and her spacey guitar, which scaled with the drums to build tension into a rich,
melodic hook, combining the strengths and emotions of each of the genres she
plays with so well to create a unique and captivating piece of music with abundant
depth. Those interested, pay attention to future visits to the cities. I have a feeling
this eccentric and talented artist is not long for neighborhood venues.

Photos: Sebastian Trujillo 
Review: Jacob Scheffer