Jale

June 20 - June 27, 1 9 9 6
[Off the Record]

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**1/2 Jale

SO WOUND

(Sub Pop)

It would have been a big mistake for this Halifax foursome to rely on the same level of artless charm and naïveté that carried them through their Sub Pop debut a couple of years back. Beginner's luck works only for beginners, and the women who started Jale with little or no musical experience back in 1992 ain't amateurs anymore. They do seem to be aware of that, for So Wound picks up with a more sophisticated take on unabashedly tuneful, rockin' pop. It doesn't hurt that original drummer Alyson MacLeod has been replaced by Mike Belitsky -- the French horn aside, drums are one of the most difficult instruments to fake.

Jale still rely on the winsome harmonies of bassist Laura Stein and guitarists Jennifer Pierce and Eve Hartling, who give each track a pleasantly sweet-and-sour tang. And this time the guitars jangle and crunch with authority against solid backbeats, adding welcome toughness to the tender sentiments of the hook-heavy opening track, "Ali," and backing up the bitterness of "Over You" with ass-kicking overdrive.

-- Matt Ashare

(Jale join Sloan at T.T. the Bear's Place next Wednesday, June 26.)