I Love You Jennifer B

by 
AlbumSep 09 / 202210 songs, 44m 15s
Art Pop Glitch Pop
Popular Highly Rated

London duo Jockstrap first gained attention in 2018 with an almost unthinkable fusion of orchestral ’60s pop and avant-club music. On their debut album, conservatory grads Georgia Ellery and Taylor Skye continue to push against convention while expanding the outline of their sui generis sound. Skye’s electronic production is less audacious this time out; *I Love You Jennifer B* is more of a head listen than a body trip. There are a few notable exceptions: The opener, “Neon,” explodes acoustic strumming into industrial-strength orchestral prog; “Concrete Over Water” violently crossfades between a pensive melody reminiscent of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and zigzagging synths recalling Hudson Mohawke’s trap-rave. But most of the album trains its focus on guitars, strings, and Ellery’s crystalline coo, leaving all the more opportunities to marvel at her unusual lyricism. Her writing returns again and again to questions of desire and regret, and while it can frequently be cryptic, she’s not immune to wide-screen sincerity: In “Greatest Hits,” when she sings, “I believe in dreams,” you believe her—never mind that she’s soon free-associating images of Madonna and Marie Antoinette. And on “Debra,” when she sings, “Grief is just love with nowhere to go” over a cascading beat that sounds like Kate Bush beamed back from the 22nd century, all of Jockstrap’s occasional impishness is rendered moot. At just 24 years old, these two are making some of the most grown-up pop music around.

When Georgia Ellery and Taylor Skye make music as Jockstrap, the process and result has one definition: pure modern pop alchemy. Meeting in 2016 when they shared the same com- position class while studying at London’s Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Ellery and Skye founded Jockstrap as a creative outlet for their rapidly-developing tastes. While Ellery had moved from Cornwall to the English capital to study jazz violin, Skye arrived from Leicester to study music production. Both were delving deep into the varied worlds of mainstream pop, EDM and post-dubstep (made by the likes of James Blake and Skrillex), as well as classical composition, ‘50s jazz and ‘60s folk singer-songwriters. The influence of the club and a dancier focus, which was hinted at on previous releases, now scorches through their new material like wildfire. Take the thumping, distorted breakbeats of ‘50/50’ –inspired by the murky quality of YouTube mp3 rips –as well as the sparkling synth eruptions of ‘Concrete Over Water’, as early evidence of where Jockstrap are heading next. Jockstrap’s discography is restless and inventive, traversing everything from liberating dancefloor techno to off-kilter electro pop, trip-hop and confessional song writing; an omnivorous sonic palette that takes on a cohesive maturity far beyond their ages of only 24 years old. They have cemented themselves as one of the most vital young groups to emerge from London’s melting pot of musical cultures.

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8.4 / 10

The full-length debut from the shapeshifting UK duo is a virtuosic display of theatrical mayhem, dazzling production, and surprisingly lustrous pop music.

8 / 10

The London duo’s relentless commitment to innovation will thrill newcomers and ardent fans alike

8 / 10

Transcending any usual debut album limitations, Jockstrap demonstrate immense power in both their minimalist and maximalist moments on I Love You Jennifer B

One step ahead of their peers, and, quite possibly, technology as we know it, Jockstrap have a timeless quality.

A record creaking and groaning under the weight of its ideas.

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Our album of the month is I Love You Jennifer B - Which, after a collection of cult EPs by Jockstrap, has revealed the duo's complex and creative identity.

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9 / 10

Vocalist, violinist and songwriter Georgia Ellery is perhaps one of London’s most sought after creatives right now. As a member of experimental rock

10 / 10

Jockstrap have arrived: I Love You Jennifer B is unquestionably one of the best debut albums of the last five years

The album is filled with accessible musings on urban life and epiphanies spurred by lovers and considerations of mental health.

9 / 10

Jockstrap's experimental pop makes their debut I Love You Jennifer a bewildering yet rewarding listen. Jockstrap play with expectations to keep listeners on their toes.

8.6 / 10

I Love You Jennifer B by Jockstrap album review. The UK band new release drops on September 9, via Rough Trade records and DSPs

80 %

Georgia Ellery is the violinist and backing vocalist for the latter, but more recently she’s one half of Jockstrap, whose debut album I Love You Jennifer B further establishes this community as one of the most exciting pockets of indie music today.

Album Reviews: Jockstrap - I Love You Jennifer B

86 %

To enjoy Jockstrap is to appreciate the flawless interconnection between two creative minds. Vocalist and lyricist Georgia Ellery is filled with countless characters, whims and desires, and undeniably feels deeply for each of the people she embodies. She couldn’t ask for a better production partner than Taylor Skye, who treats them with the same level

2.0 / 5

Jockstrap - I Love You Jennifer B review: Jennifer B Careful What You Wish For

In new music this week, there’s everything from heavy-metal luminaries to new stars drawing on Sudanese and Zambian traditions

8 / 10