Once again, Jockstrap has hit a home run. The experimental electronic duo released their debut album, I Love You Jennifer B, earlier this September, and it’s already making waves–it’s scored an 8.4 from Pitchfork, was declared “strange and wonderful” by Consequence, and received five stars from NME.
Jockstrap has about a half-decade of history building up to this collection: Georgia Ellery and Taylor Skye met in 2016, releasing their debut EP, Love is The Key to The City, two years later through Kaya Kaya Records. This was followed by Lost My Key in the <3 Club <3 in 2019, and then Wicked City and Beavercore the following year, the latter two under Warp Records. Today, they’re signed to Rough Trade Records, a change made in 2021. Ellery and Skye define Jockstrap on their Bandcamp as “pure pop alchemy,” and that’s coloured their adventurous, shimmering sound throughout their generative half-decade of existence.
It’s also a phrase that absolutely fits I Love You Jennifer B, which samples all sorts of ingredients from pop history. “Neon,” the opening track, is an acoustic guitar gradually crushed by noise and distortion. This segues into the eclectic, glitch-ridden dance track of “Jennifer B,” named after the album’s titular figure. From there, Ellery and Skye continue to play with and shift their voices and synths, creating a unique and ever-changing soundscape.
“Greatest Hits” and “What’s It All About,” for example, carry slightly more conventional pop instrumentals, with strings uplifting the airy, ethereal vocals–though even they get their own twists. “Angst” is bordering minimalist, the majority of the song spent on vocals and a hypnotic harp solo, and “Lancaster Court” feels like something straight out of a dusty, almost folksy, singer-songwriter vinyl your grandmother would own. Of course, the former is also immediately followed by “Debra,” which strikes at once with its crunchy, abrasive synths before morphing into an insanely danceable beat.
Every track holds a different combination from Jockstrap’s sonic buffet, and you never know what will happen next. Even the track lengths show a wild variety–the longest song, “Concrete Over Water,” clocks in at over six minutes, and the shortest, “What’s It All About,” doesn’t break three.
“I Love You Jennifer B is a collection of Jockstrap tracks that have been 3 years in the making,” Skye said in a statement through Rough Trade Records, their label. “Everything on it is pretty singular sounding so we hope there is a track on there for everyone and something that speaks to you and says ‘I’m a banger.’””
That’s said, it’s this very willingness to explore that gives the album its own kind of cohesiveness, one that makes it feel very distinctly “Jockstrap.” Their influences are also as varied as the album itself–they name “the murky quality of YouTube mp3 rips,” but also nod to mainstream pop, post-dubstep, classical composition, jazz, and folk. One thing’s for sure–there’s something for just about anybody.
Overall, I Love You Jennifer B proves to be an exciting new collection, where Jockstrap’s vast range and vaster potential are on display. It’s one that leaves us eager for what’s next–and in the meantime, I for one will be listening to “Angst” and “Debra” on loop.
With the album’s release, Jockstrap embarks on the I Love You Jennifer B tour later this month, sweeping across the UK and making some stops in North America. Merchandise is also available on their website and Bandcamp.
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