First Watch: Jaala, 'Ticket'

By Sophie Kemp

Published July 21, 2016 at 11:00 AM EDT

Jaala makes music that feels untethering. In the new video for "Ticket," frontwoman Cosima Jaala rolls around and clings to the walls of a desolate-looking house. It's actually her house in Melbourne, and the singer writes in an email that "the song 'Ticket' is a conversation with myself about interpersonal dysfunction." In that dysfunction, and in that nearly abandoned home, she says the following things happen:

You make loud rock 'n' roll songs.

A loud shriek can be heard escaping your mouth.

You could find yourself writhing like a possessed creature next to the bed when you could be in the bed, more comfortable watching Honey Boo Boo.

For Cosima, it's a dark and uncomfortable place, and the effect is visceral yet complex. Sonically, "Ticket" exists somewhere in between conventions of noise punk and modern progressive rock; it's close cousins with artists like Pharmakon and Perfect Pussy. As depicted in the video, the song is more than just an outpouring of emotions: It tells a gritty story of heartbreak that's difficult to navigate, with chaotic rhythms and jarring instrumentation. "Ticket" captures the emotional rollercoaster of the horrible things that happen at the end of a relationship — or, more accurately, that happen as you're falling out of love. Jaala is trying to break your heart with this one, even as it drags you through a rocky, noisy minefield.

Jaala's debut album, Hard Hold, is out now on Wondercore Island.