Formed in 2002, the Irrepressibles have released three full studio albums and six EPs. All songs are written by Jamie Irrepressible. According to the musician, the project's name is "about breaking boundaries in music and being honest about being gay in music". after a period in
Berlin, Germany. The artist changed his name from "Jamie McDermott" to "Jamie Irrepressible" in 2013, on his collaboration with Norwegian electronic duo
Röyksopp.
2009: From the Circus to the Sea The project's first release was the soundtrack to Shelly Love's
The Forgotten Circus, issued in January 2009.
The Independent described the group as one of Britain's best-kept secrets.
2010: Mirror Mirror On 11 January 2010, the Irrepressibles released their debut studio album,
Mirror Mirror, a collection of twelve baroque pop songs produced by
Dimitri Tikovoi and William Turner Duffin and written by Jamie McDermott. The album features the single "In This Shirt".
Mirror Mirror received critical acclaim.
The Guardian called it "theatrical and very different, a ripe, colourful riposte to all that is
Cowell", and
The Independent described it as "a dramatic soundscape dripping with echoes of the
Weimar Republic and
Belle Époque."
"In This Shirt" The track "In This Shirt" garnered critical and public acclaim after it was used as the soundtrack for the short film
The Lady Is Dead, by Israeli production company PAG Films, which
Sundance Channel described as "fantastic". It was remixed by various artists, including Röyksopp,
Hercules & Love Affair, and
Zero 7. The song received renewed attention in 2018, when it was used by French figure skater
Kévin Aymoz as his free-skating program. It again gained prominence in 2020, through its widespread use in videos on
TikTok during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
2012: Nude In November 2012, the Irrepressibles released their second album,
Nude. Self-produced by McDermott, the record received critical acclaim.
The Quietus described it as a "remarkably varied and unpredictable album", stating that "the results border on the spectacular".
The Independent gave it 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "an act of bravery in a cowardly world", where McDermott "heralds homosexual love as a heroic, romantic and redemptive force".
Nude EPs 2013 saw the release of
Nude: Landscapes, the first of three EPs inspired by—and expanding on—the band's second album. This first EP saw the band take a "minimal symphonic" and "acoustic" direction, as described by McDermott in an interview with
QX magazine. The second EP,
Nude: Viscera, released on 14 February 2014, "brings together influences from new wave, grunge, and exotica". The third EP,
Nude: Forbidden, was released on 6 April 2014.
2018: Third album: Superheroes On 31 May 2018, the Irrepressibles released a new single, "Submission", from their forthcoming third album. The video, directed by Cypriot filmmaker Savvas Stavrou, was featured on
Nowness. A second single, "Dominance", was released on 22 November 2018. The visuals, a collaboration between Italian photographer Paride Mirabilio and Turkish director Mertcan Mertbilek, were featured on the website Pornceptual. A third single, "Anxiety", was released on 29 November 2018 and a fourth, "International", on 22 March 2019. The video for the latest track was directed by Jamie Irrepressible, in collaboration with Ukrainian director Alexey Romanowski, and was featured by
New Noise Magazine. A fifth single, "Let Go (Everybody Move Your Body Listen to Your Heart)", was released on 27 March 2020 and described by
Clash as "an absolute bulldozer — a stunning pop missile that explodes staid sexual norms." A video for it was directed by Savvas Stavrou and featured in
Kaltblut magazine. A sixth single, "The Most Beautiful Boy (Strong Outside a Man but Inside a Boy)", was published on 23 July 2020, alongside the album. The record was acclaimed by the media, with
Loud and Quiet describing it as "cleverly inflecting the central romance with incisive commentary on masculinity and mental health."
The Quietus stated it was "hard not to fall in love with this album" and a "beautiful open book of his journey uniting with his mental health, masculinity and homosexuality". In 2022, a reinterpretation of "The Most Beautiful Boy" by Felsmann + Tiley was featured in the Swedish LGBT teen drama
Young Royals, appearing in two episodes as well as the official trailer. Speaking with
Tunefind, the show's music supervisor, Magnus Palmborg, described it as "such a beautiful and unique song and it really defined the complicated love between our two main characters in the show".
2024: Yo Homo On 12 April 2024, the Irrepressibles released a new single, "Will You?", taken from their fourth album,
Yo Homo. The video, directed by Will Kennedy, was featured in
Attitude magazine, who described it as "an anthem full of pent-up sexual tension". McDermott described the song as being about "an encounter: homosexual allure, the intensity of desire... the fear is in the strings... the sexual tension in the drums... and the drive in the bass and distorted guitars. It's a track that lifts from intensity to abandon.” Joseph Wilson, who directed it, stated that "'Yo Homo' explores the rage of queer youth and the power of community. The song takes me back to my teens, when I would get drunk in skateparks and go wild in mosh pits at local rock shows. It's the song I wish I knew when I was 16, and the song I listen to now with pride and sweet nostalgia". Container Love, a queer cultural creative studio, developed the music video. On 12 September, the band released "In the Rhythm" alongside a video by LA-based director Sam McGuire, as well as "Destination", with a video by Jack Willoughby.
Yo Homo came out on 27 September and was featured among
The Guardians albums of the week.
Collaborations In 2012, McDermott collaborated with Hotel Pro Forma and the
Latvian Radio Choir on
WAR SUM UP. The project toured extensively worldwide, receiving acclaim from Danish outlet
Gaffa as well as
The New York Times. In 2013, McDermott provided guest vocals on
Rex the Dog's single "Do You Feel What I Feel" as well as Röyksopp's singles "Something in My Heart" and "Twenty Thirteen". In 2014, he also featured on Röyksopp's album
The Inevitable End, on the tracks "You Know I Have to Go", "I Had This Thing", "Here She Comes Again", and "Compulsion", in addition to the previously released "Something in My Heart", on which he was credited for the first time as Jamie Irrepressible. In 2015, having relocated to Berlin, McDermott began working with American
alternative country artist Jon Campbell and produced his debut EP, released in 2016. In 2021, McDermott featured on Dutch duo
Tinlicker's track "You Take My Hand". He also appeared on several tracks of
Röyksopp's 2022 triple-album project,
Profound Mysteries. ==Studio band/musicians==