There’s something bracingly direct about The Jackets right now. On the eve of their first ever Australian and New Zealand tour, the Swiss garage psych punks have announced Essentials, a record that doubles as both introduction and summation. It lands on March 20 via Chaputa Records, though fans Down Under will get first crack, with copies available at shows from February 25.
Rather than a conventional greatest-hits package, Essentials feels like a carefully sharpened distillation. Spanning 18 years of band history, it gathers ten of The Jackets’ most defining cuts alongside two new recordings, ‘The Question’ and ‘Rock & Roll Band’. The former arrives as a standalone 7-inch too, signalling that this isn’t a closing chapter but a recalibration.
Fronted by Jackie Brutsche, whose Love It To Death-era eye makeup has become part of the band’s visual grammar, The Jackets have always traded in immediacy. Their sound sits at the intersection of garage grit, psychedelic repetition and punk economy, delivered without excess and with a sense of intent that carries from record to stage.
Since forming in 2008, Brutsche and drummer Chris Rosales, now joined by bassist Omar Fra, have built their reputation the hard way. Relentless touring across Europe, the UK, the US, Japan, Mexico and Canada has turned them into a word-of-mouth proposition, particularly on the garage and psych circuit. Festival slots at Tokyo’s Back From The Grave Halloween Ball, Spain’s Funtastic Dracula Carnival and Seattle’s Freak Out Festival have only sharpened that edge.
With Australia and New Zealand finally on the itinerary, Essentials arrives as both calling card and reminder. These are songs built to move fast, hit hard and leave a mark. No filler, no framing device, just The Jackets doing what they’ve done for nearly two decades, now brought into focus.
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