New Music: Blumi – Jaguar

The partially spoken-word ebb and flow of the indie/kosmische leaning Jaguar is an intriguing foretaste of Blumi’s Steady Heart album.

You can hear parallels with the music of Stereolab and the vocals of Adrienne Lenker, but the dynamics and tension within Jaguar are rather dissimilar. It has minute silences after that spoken intro, as if working out the dual needs within the song: seeking solitude while also wanting or needing to be part of something communal. That’s where the comparison to jaguars comes into play: they exist in isolation for long periods, yet mothers stay with their cubs for years, and adults can spend time together.

Blumi – French-British artist Emma Broughton – picks an animal that can be fierce and territorial but also familial. But I may be overcomplicating things; it could just as easily be about not running away from life as we would from a jaguar.  

Speaking about the track, she said, “I used to think, with great drama and hand-on-forehead-flapping, that what I needed the most was solitude. If only everyone would leave me be – leave me tranquil, as we say in French.”

Steady Heart is set for release in January 2027 via Capitane Records. Blumi plays in London, Paris, and Brussels in the lead-up to the album. For ticket and music info, head to the artist’s Instagram and Facebook accounts. Jaguar is streaming on Bandcamp and Spotify.

Header image by Anne-Laure Etienne and Emmanuel Chevilliat