Jessie & Layla
Without beards: Friday night in Whelan's, and the cross-legged brigade are out in force. There's a bunch of them on stage right now, all raggy jeans and long, unkempt hair, warbling cover versions of Jeff Buckley and Bob Dylan, and sounding like a bag of cats being tossed over O'Connell Bridge. Suddenly, two women stroll onstage, take their place behind their microphones, and begin harmonising beautifully with the beardy blokes. Their clear, dulcet tones have the effect of softening the folkie croaks, making everyone sound like they're singing in tune; the view has suddenly gotten better too. This is Jessie & Layla, two singing sisters who have supported everyone from Mundy to Katell Keineg, and who are now gaining an audience for their own brand of sweet, soft-hued pop-folk. They've just released their début album, Kinetic (see review at left), which they describe as "a musical mélange of sixties psychedelia and noughties electronica, close-knit harmonies and pure pop sensibilities". And not a beard in sight.
Hippie chicks: Jessie and Layla Collins have their parents to thank for their interest in all things retro, psychedelic and folksy. Growing up in a pastoral commune in Wicklow, where their parents were pursuing the hippie ideal, young Jessie and Layla were exposed to the music of the past, including JJ Cale, Al Green and The Beatles. The social experiment didn't work out, and mum brought the girls to live in the rather less utopian environs of Dublin. But though they've long since left the commune, Jessie and Layla have taken some of its fairy dust with them, sprinkling it liberally on such songs as Move On and Freezin' Up.
Rat pack: Jessie and Layla's dad, the late Bob Collins (not the former director general of RTÉ), was an avid music lover, directing programmes on RTÉ such as Anything Goes and videos for The Blades and The Boomtown Rats. He moved to London after separating; when the girls were teenagers, they went to visit him and hear his wild tales of on-tour mayhem with Thin Lizzy. When Jessie finally finished school, the pair began to perform together at such folkie-friendly venues as Whelan's and the International Bar.
Half speed: When Layla was diagnosed with ME, rehearsals were curtailed, gigs cancelled and the songwriting began to stall. Undaunted, Jessie set out on a solo trip to New York, where she played at open mic nights. Layla was soon on the road to recovery, and within a year the sisters were back together, writing and recording songs and adding electronic beats to their sweet '60s pop sound. With the help of Liam Mulvaney of Asylum Studios, the girls completed Kinetic. They're now on the road delivering sweet harmonies to venues around the country, and generally improving the look of the place.
