Jockstrap are a London duo that I had not previously been aware of before they came to my attention through an Injury Reserve feature on one of the tracks of this new EP, unfortunately Injury Reserve’s final feature (R.I.P GROGGS). This EP – Wicked City, is the duo’s second EP, released just after their recent signing to Warp Records earlier this year. Jockstrap consists of songwriter / vocalist / violinist Georgia Ellery and electronic producer Taylor Skye who have come together to release one of the most enjoyable and unique sounding records I’ve heard so far this year (and a little while before that). Jockstrap’s Wicked City EP blends some of the PC music wave’s experimental and glitchy production style with an opera-esque art pop sound who’s latter is achieved mainly through Georgia’s incredibly beautiful singing voice. In just 20 minutes, the dynamic duo cover a wide range of sounds and influences while boasting an incredibly unique musical style that sets them apart in the London underground scene.
The first track featuring Injury Reserve is actually my least favourite track of the bunch, beginning with a very slow trudging beat intermittently featuring an experimental electronic drum pattern and warped deadpan vocals before Injury Reserve unexpectedly exploding onto the track with their trademark rapping style seemingly not intimidated by the very glitchy and experimental beat they flow across. Their verses are the best part of the song in my opinion, before the song returns to its initial sludgy and experimental pace. Straight away from the first track you can tell that Skye is influenced by the production style of Dylan Brady from 100 gecs fame, with the very kitschy sounds they incorporate which often sounds like internet pop on crack. Again not my favourite track of the EP which is unfortunate as the injury reserve feature is good, however it fails to seem coherent and comes across as messy and like 2 separate tracks. However this song does stand testament to show how injury reserve were attempting to position themselves as hip hop artists in this new wave of deconstructed club / pop, PC Music and the experimental underground which is gaining more and more traction.
The second track – Acid is a highlight of the EP and marks a completely different sound than the first track. It begins with Ellery’s violin playing enhanced by the production of Skye creating a sound you don’t often hear in this type of music. Ellery’s voice shines in this track, creating an art-opera type lounge pop with a voice so angelic and smooth it sounds like it’s been in the industry for years alongside the likes of Amy Winehouse. Her voice on its own would be a beautiful ballad style track in itself, but alongside the amazing futuristic production supplied by Skye this takes it to another level making this song an absolute gem. This track also has an amazingly twinkly outro which is achieved through this forward thinking production and sounds like little twinkling electronic stars. The third track – Yellow in Green, continues with the opera / ballad style of lounge, with Ellery singing over an arpeggio of angelic sounding piano keys. This track is also a lot like a classical ballad type track, but the added subtle hints of glitchy and experimental production gives it more character and marks it out among a lot of other songs in this style. The maturity of Ellery’s singing voice equally stands out in this track and ends with the piano keys blending into electronic glitchy arpeggios giving Jockstrap’s other half his chance to shine.
The beginning of The City starts like a slow ballad that I can imagine being in a Broadway musical play, Ellery’s voice sounding beautiful as ever. The lyrics give off a bit of a 30s noire vibe through singing about the city in a very elegant and poetic way. This is a very elegant part of the song, however about half way through the song, the very light stripped back elements of the song disappear and the song then busts into a glitchy electronic interlude with Ellery’s vocalising mixed way into the back back it before finding a hard hitting glitchy drum beat which you could find featuring on an 100 gecs song. After this disorienting electronic interlude, the song completely switches into something completely different, with both Georgia and Taylor speaking avant-garde poetry with warped vocal effects about a hideous monster and a beaver that had invaded their home. They talk in a very comedic and English way about sitting on the beavers face, the monster cooking all different types of food in a big black frying pan and the beaver taking a shower without a shower curtain. The way these lyrics are written seem to be quite profound in a sense, spoken in partly the same poetic way that the initial part of the song was and with quite an obscure meaning, potentially with metaphorical meaning behind it. The song ends with the monster addressing the showering beaver: “So it’s all power, power, power can’t sleep – Or think or dream of anything else – I hate you and I hate your money” and throwing itself against the door.
The final track City Hell, begins with a much more conventional sound for this type of electronic PC experimental music with autotuned vocals, yet maintaining the opera type sound with electronically produced organ sounds, giving the song a bit of a glamorous finale type feel. The lyrics maintain the noire theme of discussing a city and life within it, this one seeming to be a little more melancholic to begin with, touching on themes of a lost lover and a lost city. Throughout the song, beautiful theatrical melodic interlude with trap style hi hats are woven through the track which sounds amazing. The production exhibited on this track City Hell is extremely impressive and showcases Skye’s talent the most out of the tracks on this EP. Ellery’s autotuned vocals are then swapped for her own angelic opera style voice which complement the background production immensely and sound like a Beatles inspired outro show them both to be true innovators in this style.
Through their introduction of the Amy Winehouse influenced art pop blended with this new style of deconstructed club and glitch hop, for me, marks Jockstrap’s Wicked City EP as an instant classic in the underground and leftfield PC music scene. My only hope for the future is that they can create a more cohesive project that doesn’t have the disorienting contrast that the first two tracks on the EP have. However overall I feel like Jockstrap have touched upon an extremely unique style, marrying these different sounds of 100 gecs style bangers and opera inspired art pop. Their extremely mature and unique sound for such new young artists showcases the possibilities of what can be done with the new wave of experimental electronic production and makes Jockstrap one of the most interesting and exciting up and coming groups to look out for, not just in the London scene, but as Injury Reserve recognised in their potential, in the global underground scene.
Jockstrap – Wicked City: super cool.
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