”From their first EP, Swum Baby, in 2017 to their full length album, In Praise of Shadows in 2021, their music has held onto and evolved its mysterious and intimate sound.”

I adore Puma Blue’s music. From their first EP, Swum Baby, in 2017 to their full length album, In Praise of Shadows in 2021, their music has held onto and evolved its mysterious and intimate sound. Think Late-night Jazz, King Krule’s guitar chops with Jeff Buckley’s voice, all wrapped in silk and thrown into the ocean. 

”The whole band swaggered through the setlist with brash sax solos, tight grooves, and that beautiful voice floating over it all.”

Abstractions aside, Puma Blue is the alias of Jacob Allen. At the concert, he was joined by an exceptional band of drums, bass, keys, and sax. The whole band swaggered through the setlist with brash sax solos, tight grooves, and that beautiful voice floating over it all. I cannot recommend their Allen/Puma Blue’s enough, and the concert reinforced that view tenfold. 

For such intimate and often sensitive music, I expected Allen to have a shy and unassuming presence. While he did have an introverted glow- if such a categorization can ever really be made- Allen held the stage with certainty and ease. This might go without saying, since he’s a professional touring artist, but there is something about the allure of an artist with under 700,000 monthly listeners on Spotify that makes you wonder how the stage will be taken. Speaking to the audience, Allen was laid-back, funny, and welcoming. Everything fit together perfectly; the music and the man were so clearly akin to one another. The band gave the fire every ounce of fuel it needed.

 

The stage in question was packed with the band’s setup and the gig was at 80% capacity, providing a cosy context for the concert. There were several lamps on stands around the band, and dim blue overhead lighting, giving the whole room a sleepy haze. The musical and visual elements paired gorgeously, and the crowd stood and swayed for the duration of Puma Blue’s stay. 

“This was a gorgeous concert, full of wonderful musicianship and just damn good songs.”

The band reached the end of the main setlist with as much ease as they had begun, but they hadn’t happened to play my favourite song- yet it’s such a popular one? I worried for a moment that they were fully finished. It had been a wonderful concert but, with a good thing, you start to get selfish. When they inevitably came back for the encore, a final song, they played it. “Only Trying 2 Tell U”. I had been wearing my earplugs for the whole gig, to manage my tinnitus; I took them out for this song. I had to soak it all in.

 

This was a gorgeous concert, full of wonderful musicianship and just damn good songs. With the release of their new album, Holy Waters, Puma Blue’s sound continues to evolve. I’d recommend giving it a spin, but the Swum Baby and Blood Loss EP’s and the divine “Only Trying 2 Tell U” single should be your first step if you’ve never listened to them before. Listen to the song “Oil Slick” from In Praise of Shadows to see how close to King Krule he can get. Try Puma Blue out- thank me later.

WORDS: Cormac Nugent