Hi there,
Here are my two cents on Jockstrap’s debut studio album released through Rough Trade Records.
It opens with folky vocal - I stay expectant for some impact based on the band’s Spotify bio, ‘After meeting at one of London's longest-running music conservatories, vocalist/violinist/songwriter Georgia Ellery (also a member of Black Country, New Road) and electronic producer Taylor Skye formed Jockstrap’. Then the synth swoop in, and I was right. I should have known all along with a band name like ‘Jockstrap’, it won’t be something as straight…forward.
The album consist of tracks that are epic feasts on textures (Jennifer B, Greatest Hits, Angst), with similar quality to Gene Belcher’s musical genius and I mean it as the highest praise possible; and sounds that tread on ridges of multiple genres: folk, synth pop, swing and experimental / post- rock. At times, it reminds me of their contemporary such as Weyes Blood, Moses Sumney and BC,NR (duh), but ultimately embracing their respective taste and curation in this project.
Greatest Hits is a glorious tribute to the many sounds of 80s or as the title suggests, the formulation of greatest hits. I chose the word ‘tribute’ carefully, and steer far far away from ‘pastiche’. I associate pastiche with the likes of Tarantino and Wes Anderson essentializing certain cinematic style and content, hence adhering their work to what they consider as ‘film’ with a capital ‘F’. Jockstrap’s process leans towards an act of extraction. Melody-wise aligning with the catchiness of 80s pop, with lingering half-note, jingle-like, dreamy. The track kept the recognisable sound quality of the era-appropriate drum-pad, the drama, and the camp-ness of keyboard’s built-in sound bites. Somehow there were less ego involved in their selections of sounds and process, but an admirable musical nerdiness shown off in their precision and execution. Care less of what it says on the genres’ packaging, they roll with whichever elements that are niche and personal to them.
Jennifer B brought forward an ancient musical reference I had, The Real Tuesday Weld, via their whimsical, electro swings (join in by Black Midi’s Hellfire). With a hint of jolliness, I find myself bobbing along to its loopy theme-park ride tune. This is when I notice the way they toy with familiar sounds, working with the listeners’ association and context of where they encounter them - somewhere in there, is a practice bordering foley, leaving one to decide whether that is finger-picking on a harp, or a music box (similar experience listening to Wet from their previous EP). Concrete over Water triumph in encapsulating ‘sound as instruments’ to then be rendered as brutalist poetry - (Was it chanting, or dog barking inside an estate block?) like mistaking traffic noise as ocean waves, associated by their static quality.
While Jockstrap’s scope of reference are wide, I Love You Jennifer B did not abandon their tried-and-true sweeping sound of strings (and synth), urban myth in prose (didn’t have the capacity this time to discuss the rich textual reading by their fans) and working to the utility of music, field-recording and everything in-between. Their gambol with sounds and texture made it infinitely intriguing and unique to each listen.