Years ago I heard the two debuts of chamber-folkpop band Jaggery. We are a few albums down the line now and the foundations are still recognizable.
Some tracks, especially those with more focus on the lyrics and sung in the higher registers, have more pop abilities, even though Jaggery’s singer tends to improvise too, freely and repetitively in mood sections and accompanied by a colourful chamber-pop band with its own rhythm and arrangements. On Track 2, the singer sounds more Celtic, when her voice is recorded with a bit more spatial echo. More often overdubs of voices are added to give a more full sound; on “Mama” (track 7) this is even deepened and richer in harmony. The feminine energy often dominates; in the same way this could be the expression of a, let’s say, ideal starting point of a group sound for a celebrative neo-pagan band in the woods (like on track 3). In one track the lead voice is recorded with a telephone effect on it, expressing rhythmically also some kind of a beat poet element. The rhythms are provided mostly by drums and double bass, occasionally by additional hand percussion, and a few times also by vibraphones. The melodic leads of arrangements are expressed by piano or harp, the harp could also provide nice accents. This could also be provided, with some arrangement or context, by the violin [sic]. There is a swinging groove and improvisational element in the songs, where it is as if just the song title can be enough to improvise upon (with singing, rhythm and melodic repetition). Jaggery makes attractive music, which I think could work better with a campfire lightning than a more artificial stage score.
~ Gerald van Waes
link to article: http://www.psychedelicfolk.com/jaggery.html