If you ever receive the opportunity to see one of the best new artists in the world in the city where you\u2019re living for the foreseeable future for one night only, to say no should be a crime. Take, for instance, emerging UK electropop duo Jockstrap\u2019s show at 7th Street Entry this most recent Sunday. The odds were not in my favor to make it to the show in the first place, given I had a five AM flight that morning, but through the power of concert bootlegs and coffee, nothing could stop me from making my way downtown, shaking in my boots in the cold to see the two on a stop for their first American tour. I had been following Jockstrap for some time prior to this show, living in the UK, being mostly familiar with vocalist Georgia Ellery\u2019s work in UK-based post-punk group Black Country, New Road, and having heard snippets of Taylor Skye\u2019s remixes in indie clubs and from my art school friends who raved about him. This is incredibly far from post-punk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jockstrap\u2019s most recent LP, I Love You Jennifer B<\/em>, hot off the heels of several smaller EPs, is quite possibly one of the most brilliant pieces of pop music released in the last five years and an album of the year (and likely the decade). It is glitchy, chaotic, intimate, ethereal, and, to summarize, unlike any record I have ever listened to. Arriving at 7th Street, I had incredibly high expectations, and the live show blew my expectations out of the water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, before talking about Jockstrap, I feel compelled to talk about the opener, ernest rareberrg, a New York City based artist who I admittedly had never heard of prior to Sunday. They immediately kicked up the energy with bright and fun songs and intricate performances (including a lamp which commanded the crowd into a frenzy) which managed to invoke the shoegaze of my angsty years and ethereal bedroom pop. Keep an eye on ernest rareberrg, they\u2019re definitely going places soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Opening with the heavy opener from their LP, Neon, the duo immediately kicked the energy up with tracks like Jennifer B (\u201cI can be a stripper if you want me to\u201d) \u201cGreatest Hits\u201d (\u201cimagine I\u2019m the<\/em> Madonna \/ dressed in blue \/ No – dressed in pink!)\u201d, and Debra (\u201clooked at the moon, pressed X at the stars\u201d). The instrumentation was at once theatrical and glamorous, yet resembled something you\u2019d find in a European club, which filled the small and cramped crowd with an energy I haven\u2019t seen at a show in years. Mixed within these energetic pieces were slow and intimate pieces, which brought the crowd together in a quiet unison. A highlight of these slower ones was \u201cThe City\u201d, which is mostly because I started weeping for no discernable reason. This moment was promptly interrupted by their hits \u201cI Want Another Affair\u201d and \u201c50\/50\u201d, wherein the entire crowd collapsed into a jumping mass of pure release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jockstrap is at once something deeply personal and something entirely new in the field of popular music. Ellery\u2019s lyricism is confessional and meditative, Skye\u2019s production masterfully intricate. This is the kind of music I could only dream of creating, let alone existing, and feel incredibly lucky to have been able to witness it live. I suspect they\u2019re going to be very popular within the year. Overall, I\u2019d say that seeing the duo was probably the most fun I\u2019d had at a concert in a very long time. If you see that Jockstrap\u2019s in town, drop whatever it is you\u2019re doing and see them. Alternatively, if they aren\u2019t playing your city, drop whatever you\u2019re doing, whatever you\u2019re working on, whatever you\u2019re listening to, and listen to their records at the loudest volume possible at home. Dance like there\u2019s no tomorrow. See you on the other side.
Check out my show: Time Travel is Lonely<\/em>, every Thursday from 10pm-12am!<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"