The rise of UK artist JVCK JAMES just can’t be stopped! His latest 6-track EP, ‘JOYRIDE’, along with its accompanying short film is a slick romp dripping in 90’s inspired aesthetics and sonics - We urge you to take the time to indulge!

Since his graduation from East London Academy of Music just a few short years ago, the 21 year old singer-songwriter has quickly built a reputation as a smooth-crooning talent with a pure love for all things classic R&B. Growing up, JVCK (real name James Anderson) worshipped iconic performers like Michael Jackson and Usher, artists who have style and panache as well as charismatic voices to match; and the impact of such artists can be felt in his own performance for ‘JOYRIDE’.

The six track project is both breezy and seductive, with JVCK’s showmanship rooted firmly in his elevated self-assurance and style. Combining the music-video for his previously released single ‘No Drama’ with new visuals for the remaining hits off the EP, the ‘JOYRIDE’ short is a cohesive and ultra-fashionable display of JVCK’s uncompromising drive to be the whole package, carrying the cool composure and sex appeal of a performer way more established than he. Directed by Fern O’Meally, the project’s visuals are mesmerising, full of the glitzy shots of leading ladies, enigmatic choreography and some slick sartorial choices. Scattered between the songs, a female narrator explains the importance of joy and real love along with the perils of trying to extract happiness from the wrong places.

Much like the project’s sensation-seeking title, JVCK’s lyrics reveal a big belief in feeling good. Unsurprisingly for such an unapologetic homage to butter-smooth R&B, topics tend towards seduction and the pursuit of romance, with JVCK dishing out cheeky lines without hesitation, such as his gleeful description in ‘Basement’ - “She make a boy loco, high on that cali / She got that fatty, cheeky say grab me / She liking the mojo, she sent me the addy.” While JVCK is more than happy to keep to his classic R&B lane in tracks like ‘What You Want’ and ‘Getaway’, closing song ‘…Roll It’ shows what’s possible when JVCK takes the high-road (okay, the driving puns end now). The song sees him embrace a more harmonically intricate and structurally complex approach, the warped-soul sound and squeaky auto-tune instantly bringing Frank Ocean to mind (specifically his songs ‘White Ferrari’ and ‘Lose Control’). Essentially, having successfully staked a claim as one of the UK’s coolest R&B up-and-comers, the musical direction JVCK JAMES chooses to go in is totally up to him. What we do know for sure is that whatever road he ends up taking, the journey will be a hell of a trip (I lied, sue me).

Reflecting on the release, JVCK expanded on the concept behind the short,"Working with Fenn O'Meally on the JOYRIDE film was a dream - a vision she was able to execute and bring to life better than I could imagine. The mood-boards took reference from the 90s - an incredibly iconic time for R&B music I've always wanted to pay homage to while bringing my own life into it. Joyride takes you on a magical journey while describing the challenges and benefits of one of the most powerful feelings on earth everyone craves - joy."

JVCK JAMES - Joyride [EP Review]