Listen to: GROVE - 'Ur Boyfriend’s Wack'

Prepare to have your 2021 shaken up by Bristol-based triple threat Grove. As a vocalist, producer and DJ, the genderqueer artist uses their music to playfully navigate the complex nuances of identity by combining both the masculine and feminine energies that they inhabit.

© Luke Tubbs

“Ur Boyfriend’s Wack”, released today, is a rave indebted track that connects the dots between PC Music and Charli XCX's hyperpop, early 90s jungle records and the breathy vocal cadence of Shygirl. The adrenaline-inducing club track is accompanied by visuals exploring Grove’s gender fluidity and the different physical forms they take, whilst the obscene bassline reminds us of the long-forgotten joys of pre-COVID nightlife.

When discussing the track, Grove states "Ur Boyfriend’s Wack is part satire about wack boyfriends who do the bare minimum, part informed by the experience of rejecting my own sexuality when younger, with the hook, "Sittin’ in the dark, palms pressed to her eyes, can’t stop thinking ‘bout the girl, no I can’t stop thinking, thinking." It is a steezy reclaiming of pride in that queerness, and departing the space where shame was part and parcel of my lived experience.”

Grove also announced today the release of their debut EP QUEER + BLACK, which will be released on February 23rd and will act as a fierce opening statement for this artist on the rise.

Alongside this, Grove’s previous single “Sticky” was named as Jack Saunders’ track of the week on his Future Artists show on BBC Radio 1. Listen to both tracks below: