Jockstrap – Wicked City EP Review
contrasting styles and abstract lyrics are very signature Jockstrap and surprisingly engaging with how weird they’re willing to be.
My first encounter with Jockstrap was last November at The Fleece in Bristol, supporting Injury Reserve on their UK tour. I was blown away by their energy and unique sound, but was a little disappointed by their failure to reproduce much of this same atmosphere in their debut EP “Love Is the Key to the City”. This was followed by a remix EP by Taylor Skye, the producer half of the duo, which did little to improve many of the songs, except for “I Want Another Affair” in which I felt they finally managed to replicate the energy of their live performance. While I see “Wicked City”, their newest EP, as a step in the right direction, it still feels to me that they are yet to fulfil their potential, or maybe just yet to live up to my lofty expectations thereof.
It seems fitting that, considering my introduction to Jockstrap, Injury Reserve feature on the opening track, “Robert” – potentially their last musical contribution under that name following the devastating news of the passing of Jordan Groggs. The blunt delivery of the opening line, “You’re provoking me, Robert” gives a similar vibe to the previous EP’s lyrics about taboo subjects such as prostitution, again delivered in a way that suggests that Georgia Ellery, the duo’s singer, is comfortable with trying to make the listener feel a little uncomfortable. The production on the rest of this track is really interesting, but the song as a whole feels rather dominated by Skye, losing the chamber pop-turned-glitch which gave them such a distinct sound in favour of just the latter. Moreover, it feels like the idea behind this song is still a little underdeveloped and raw.
However, “Acid”, the first single released in advance of this EP, brings back Ellery’s violin and returning balance to the sound of this track. “Acid” is Jockstrap at their best: Ellery’s dreamy singing accompanied by Skye’s glitchy, distorting production. Maybe I am bad at reading lyrics, maybe they are just actually quite abstract – they seem to me to be about someone’s inability to deal with emotions without aggression. This is a real contrast to the relatively soft sound of this track, but this works with the poetic style of the lyrics and the love that the narrator still seems to have for this person. Overall, “Acid” is a really strong track.
“Yellow in Green” continues this dreamy sound with a more Ellery-heavy track. While it is probably her best vocal performance from this EP, it is also the one I find myself returning to the least. It is pretty, giving a bit of variety to the pace and making it accessible enough to listen to them with my mum in the room, but it is just not as memorable as the other songs here. “The City” is another great song from this release which plays to all the strengths of the duo but executed differently from “Acid”, sounding almost like two different songs stitched together. It opens with a ballad style of vocals and instrumentals looking at the theme of yearning to be in a personified city. About halfway through, the glitch comes in and the lyrics become notably odd: “I sat on the beaver’s face, he sat on the beaver’s face/ and told him what the problem was”. These contrasting styles and abstract lyrics are very signature Jockstrap and surprisingly engaging with how weird they’re willing to be.
The closing track, “City Hell”, is the best song on “Wicked City”. It shows a lot more ambition than the rest of their songs, effectively utilising their signature sound while also exploring some newer stylistic directions. It opens with an autotuned Ellery singing about, really, who knows: “I came home, yeah, I flew in/ I fled the penthouse suite/ and shed my snake-suit skin”, possibly describing a sense of escapism. The production really shines through here with some warm, fuzzy synths carrying us through this track. While this is probably the most accessible song from this EP (which isn’t saying much), it is not a sound which is trying at all to pander to a wider audience. Songs like this, I feel, are the direction that Jockstrap should be heading in their future. The same is true for “Acid” and “The City”, the styles and sounds of which will be instrumental in unlocking the duo’s potential.
While I have really enjoyed “Wicked City”, I can’t help feeling that there is still better to come from Jockstrap. They have established a trademark sound already and a palpable energy to their live performances but need to be a bit more ambitious with some of their songs. Even with the quality of the EP, it feels to me like “City Hell” really outshines everything else. I hope in the future they will bring the quality of the rest of their tracks up to that very high standard.
