British soul singer Jody Brock releases promising debut EP
The name Jody Brock might not yet ring a bell, but this is about to change soon. The 22-years-old British singer studied at Brit School (the school where only Adele, Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis, Katy B, Jessie J and Katie Melua went) for a few years, along with Ella Eyre and Rizzle Kicks. Jody just released his debut EP called Phoenix and his gorgeous vocals just need to be heard.

After attending Brit School for a few years, Brock decided to start another study, only to find out that wasn’t for him. He wanted to write and record music and met a manager who hooked him up with great writers like Drew Lawrence (who co-wrote Christina Perri’s ‘Jar Of Hearts’), Rob Kleiner (Cee-Lo Green) and John Beck (Corrine Bailey-Rae). Together with them, he worked on four tracks that ended up on the debut EP that sounds equally promising and convincing.

His style could be described as mainly soul, but with influences from blues, rock and even some poppy choruses. He says to be inspired by classic soul artists like Etta James and Donny Hathaway, but also more contemporary acts like KWABS and The Black Keys. ‘User’, the opening track of the EP, showcases his strong and soulful vocals perfectly in a song about a disfunctional relationship with drugs metaphors. The chorus is captivating and the mix of soul and blues come together in a rather dark, but still catchy song.

He shows he is capable of a bit of bluesy rock as well on ‘Stormy Weather’, where his style is slightly similar to Hozier, who had a huge hit with ‘Take Me To Church’ recently. ‘Another Dance’ is the most soulful track and could be seen as an ode to the music he grew up with because of his father, who was very supportive of the career choice of his talented son. Jody saved the best for last with title track ‘Phoenix’. Where ‘Another Dance’ presents his vocal style as smooth, on this fiery uptempo song he showcases he can also sound raw and unpolished. The hook on this track is pretty strong and could easily be played on BBC Radio 1 every hour.

The Phoenix EP sees Jody Brock go back and forth between soul, blues and rock which showcases the diversity and the lush tone of his voice. He is definitely one to watch. This EP seems to be only the beginning for this young lad from London.