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| Jockstrap |
Any music fans living in Birmingham on Thursday the 7th of November were spoiled with choice for live shows to check out. From Spector at the Castle and Falcon, Deerhunter with Cate Le Bon at The Crossing and big names at the Academy and Institute. While any of those shows would have been great nights out it was only Injury Reserve which I felt was the must see that night. The Arizona trio first made a name for themselves with their independently released 'Live At The Dentists office' album. an oddly subdued experimental Hip Hop project that was quickly followed by the incendiary 'FLOSS'. an LP that was packed full of high energy bangers and followed by their similarly inventive self titled record this year. Injury Reserve are currently in the middle of a gruelling world tour. The kind of long haul that can make or break most groups. If the strains are starting to show then it's very hard to tell. Hotly tipped support act Slauson Malone was not present for this show of the tour so Injury Reserve and their support Jockstrap both had to extend their sets. Jockstraps set was an intriguing mix of sexually charged pop songs with an experimental Hip-Hop style edge. Jockstrap have a uniquely relaxed vibe, which can sometimes steer off into self indulgent territory when they start mixing in samples and remixes into their set. Yet Jockstrap have an alluring sound and style, that makes them worth checking out regardless.
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| Injury Reserve |
While I love Injury Reserve for their vibrant production and dryly funny lyrics (as well as their more emotional, and politically inspired work) the live experience is far from what I expected. Injury Reserve's live show at Mama Roux's was an assault of white noise and white light. A stage flooded with dry ice and strobe lighting made it difficult to see who or what was on stage. Injury Reserve hit the ground running with a live version of their deconstructed 'rap song tutorial', that instructed the audience on how to put on a fantastic rap show. Which Injury Reserve did, hitting the ground running with a barrage of high energy bangers, such as 'Koruna and Lime' 'What's Goodie', 'GTFU'. The more jovial cuts such as 'gravy and biscuits' and Three Man Weave' helped lighten the mood a bit, but the lighting and industrial noise still gave the show a sinister mood. Ritchie with a T seemed like the main star of the show, delivering aggro bars and working the crowd while the equally talented Groggs seemed content (literally) lurking in the shadows. Although it's hard to say anything about what anyone was actually doing. Gaps where features were missing, such as Amine's brilliant turn on Jailbreak The Tesla were were filled with more experimental noise and samples as producer Parker Corey eagerly mashed up sounds on his laptop. This and other hits such as 'Oh shit!' and All this money galvanised the Birmingham crowd into mosh pits and crowd surges
There's something refreshingly old school about Injury Reserve's approach to a live show. Anonymously focusing on the beats and songs rather than their own egos, and delivering solid bars throughout. Injury Reserve reminded Digbeth why hip hop was great in the first place, while giving a glimpse into it's future.
https://injuryreserve.online/
https://kayakayarecords.co.uk/jockstrap/index.html
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