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Words by Ben Ward | Photo by Lily Doidge
With a candid approach to songwriting and an instinct for intimate, dynamic production, Grace, Flair and Distance finds its character in the space between bedroom lo-fi textures and a more expansive folk palette.
Hailing from the big smoke, 22 year old Jo Geller, better known as jo from school, continues to hit the ground running with her debut six-track EP. A recent Chess Club Records signee, Jo is carving out an earnest and mature space for her sound in the indie-folk sphere. Generating significant buzz, she has recently made appearances at Rotterdam’s esteemed Left of The Dial, as well as supporting some incredible up and coming artists such as Saint Clair and Skullcrusher at various adored London venues.
Released in August 2026 following singles ‘Chicken’ and ‘Julia Roberts’, Grace, Flair and Distance promises sincere and considered vulnerability swinging on a dynamic pendulum. It delivers a familiar but individual sonic aesthetic, reminiscent of Slow Pulp’s indie and Adrienne Lenker’s folk delivery, that takes us on an immersive excursion through Jo’s mind.
From the first track ‘Release’, we encounter a jovial and whimsical folk number that is rhythmically captivating with a swung, brushed drum groove catalysed by the secure fingerstyle guitar progression. As the track progresses, the incremental layering provides a dynamic variation that delivers intimate and enveloping moments to help execute the open, more elaborate return to the main motif of the track.
We are then transported through an array of innovative and captivating tracks with highlights lying in the vocal deliveries and the production creativity, particularly in ‘Six Years of Keeping On’ and ‘Julia Roberts’, where the dynamics are highlighted superbly, generating a powerful yet controlled sound. The drums provide a saturated atmosphere accompanied by some unorthodox high end layers which combine to provide an ethereal feel on chorus heavy tracks.
Our standout track is the first single released ahead of the EP, ‘Chicken’, which perfectly encapsulates the anguish and fragmentation of a break up. The sincerity in the pained lyricism and delivery, with bodily motifs in the chorus captures a universally overwhelming outpour of affection that has been ruptured, distorting your day to day with that first experience of heartbreak. Its folky/lo-fi execution brings a unique character taking you into that intimate space, almost telling you to listen closer with the introduction of soft vocals and double tracked fingerpicked guitar elements. This is Jo at her finest and it's clear that this stream of consciousness vulnerability is where we can find her best work.
What was the starting point for your debut EP Grace Flair and Distance?
I don’t know if I could pinpoint a moment where it all came together, it weirdly passed me by pretty quickly. Suddenly we had these songs that I really liked put together and I was excited to get it out and move on with my writing. A starting point was probably ‘Chicken’, it was the first song that I felt super confident in.
If this EP was a film, which would it be?
If this EP was a film, it would be Meet The Robinsons, because it’s about inventing and family and also Lewis and I have the same hair colour.
You were an attendee at Brit school, do you have any advice for anyone currently studying at a creative level?
Learn as much as you can about everything outside your own world, genre and box! Then you can come back to your own thing with a completely different set of tools.
How has your songwriting developed since then?
I hope it’s gotten better. I’m a lot less precious about meaning and now I have the joy of collaborating under my belt, so the process has become a lot less melancholy, and everything sounds happier than it used to when it was just me.
What can we expect from your upcoming debut headline in London at Third Man Records?
I’ll be doing all the songs from my EP. The headline is full band so it’ll hopefully be a lot more raucous and we’ll get to have fun with the setlist because we’re the bosses!!!
How do the songs transition themselves from the studio to the stage?
It’s all thanks to my wonderful band that plays live with me (Jess, Emily and Dan). I’ll send them a track and then when we figure it out in rehearsal, they instinctively add their own style to the parts.
Which artists were instrumental in inspiring you during this process?
I was listening to a lot of DIY sounding projects like Coma Cinema and the project Dead Calm. It’s funny in hindsight, because Rich helped me build this beautiful, detail-oriented production for the tracks but that intimate bedroom sound always scratches an itch and I tried to incorporate it as much as possible with scratchy guitars at the bottom of all of it.
Do you have more new music lined up soon? What can we expect from future releases?
Definitely more music lined up and, in the world, as soon as possible. For future releases it’s still going to be me and guitar, but I’m hoping to push myself with what I write and being a bit more intentional. It’s that or trying to get a no.1 dance track.
Grab your copy of Grace, Flair and Desire on 12" magenta vinyl.
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