jo from school Releases Debut Single ‘Chicken’ on Chess Club Records

Chess Club Records has added another name to its roster. jo from school, a 22 year old songwriter from North London, arrives with debut single ‘Chicken’, a tightly wound piece of diaristic pop that unpacks the moment you decide to walk away from a relationship.

The track, produced by Hugo M. Hardy (Nieve Ella, Esme Emerson, Matilda Mann), is built around a deceptively catchy melodic hook. Hardy’s production leaves space for the words to land, and they do. jo writes with a quiet assertiveness, pulling apart fear, shame and embarrassment without losing the melody.

“It’s about leaving a person and a time behind,” she says. “‘Chickening’ is about cowardice.” The wordplay is sharp, never clever for its own sake. The song feels like a page from a notebook, but one with real structure.

Chess Club, a label that has spent years developing new acts without rushing the process, seems a fitting home. jo’s voice sits comfortably alongside the label’s emerging class, but she doesn’t sound like anyone else there. The single is out now.