Photos: Diana Cordero

SAN FRANCISCO — Perhaps it was too soon to celebrate or have fun. Australian indie rock quartet The Jezabels played to a healthy-sized crowd at the Independent Thursday evening, but that crowd was subdued.

Vocalist Hayley Mary, sensing this, didn’t ask for much in return. It wasn’t for a lack of desire. Mary, keyboardist Heather Shannon, drummer Nik Kaloper and guitarist Samuel Lockwood sounded strong mid-song. It was that space between the songs that was quieter than usual.

“Every song we play, I think how it relates to Trump,” she eventually said, halfway through the show. “You guys will get through this. The world depends on you.”

Dressed in form-fitting pants, boots and a black leather jacket emblazoned with a red rose on the back, Mary relentlessly worked the stage from left to right, dancing and thrusting her hips. The Jezabels, touring the U.S. for the first time in support of their third album, February’s Synthia, ran through a solid portion of the new material, highlighted by gems like “Smile,” “Stamina” and “Love Is My Disease.”

Toward the end of the show, Mary led a moment of silence for iconic crooner Leonard Cohen, who died earlier that evening at the age of 82.

Choosing to end with the seven-minutes-long slow-burned “Stamina,” Mary described the song as a motto to push through difficult times, which was possibly on the minds of many.

— Roman Gokhman