On Wednesday night, genre-defying duo Jockstrap, who mix electronica with classical strings and angelic vocals, performed to a sold-out crowd in popular Leeds venue Headrow House.
The duo opened with Yellow and Green, a mellow track from their second EP Wicked City, released last year. Their performance was beautiful, lead singer Georgia Ellery’s vocals somehow sounding even more incredible in person. Despite my captivation with the performance, the audience’s chatter was audible, leading me to question whether they should have begun with a bigger track. This became clear when they segued into perhaps their most well-known track, Robert. As soon as Ellery sang the opening lines, the crowd all joined in, shouting the lyrics with intense enthusiasm. Ellery danced around the stage with elegance as other member Taylor Skye effortlessly created a menacing and dramatic soundscape through fragmented beats and deep bass tones that contrasted with Ellery’s dreamy voice.
From that point, the crowd were consistently lively, bouncing around to every track, no matter the tempo. The band performed most tracks from both Love Is The Key To The City and Wicked City. However, they occasionally switched things up by playing the alternate versions of some tracks, such as Hayley, from the Taylor Skye remix EP entitled Lost My Key In The <3 Club <3. As much as I would have loved to hear the original version, the sheer energy and atmosphere of the performance made up for this straight away.
Ellery and Skye make a perfect duo, the two bouncing off of each other’s energy as they moved from track to track. They debuted some new tracks, which quite frankly, blew me away. By the way the crowd responded to them, you would assume that they were fan-favourite singles. The hype continued as they brought supporting act Brother May on stage to rap a few verses. The excitement in the room was palpable, and soon enough, my friends and I were being pushed in every direction as we attempted to stay on our feet.
The band, who played for over an hour, ended with the phenomenal track The City, which begins with gentle piano, as Ellery sings about lost love. However, mid-way the track shifts completely to an experimental electronic beat that pulsed through the venue. I turned to look at the crowd behind me, and saw a massive circle pit opening up, which took up most of the venue’s tiny floor space. As Ellery sang lines from Kathy Acker’s controversial, yet wonderful novel Blood and Guts in High School into an auto-tuned microphone, she surveyed the crowd in amazement.
Speaking to the band after the gig, they seemed genuinely amazed and incredibly grateful for people coming down to see them perform. They spent time talking to fans, asking about them and chatting like friends. The pair proved themselves to be a band worthy of every success, and I would not be surprised to see them play bigger venues soon if this performance is anything to go by.