Debuts can often feel tentative—testing the waters, finding footing—but Jordan Cracknell’s “Gordon Gekko” is anything but cautious. From the opening synths, it pulses with intent, brimming with the confidence of an artist who knows her perspective matters. It’s rare to hear a debut this self-assured, both conceptually and sonically. Cracknell doesn’t just enter the pop-electronic space—she rewrites its rules.
The song’s central conceit—reframing Gordon Gekko, the poster child of 1980s financial greed, through a female perspective—could easily have collapsed into parody. Instead, Cracknell finds something thrillingly empowering in the reversal. Her background as a published finance author adds weight to the metaphor; when she delivers lines with sharp, spoken-word poise, the authority feels earned. This isn’t surface-level commentary—it’s lived-in critique reimagined as art.
Musically, the track thrives on contrasts. The production, handled with Tom Marlow, is sleek but fiery, all scorched synths and urgent rhythms. Cracknell’s vocal delivery cuts through with clarity, more incantation than singing, blurring the line between poetry and pop. The result is hypnotic, with words and beats intertwining until they feel inseparable.
There are clear influences—Marina’s theatrical edge, Raye’s fearless directness, Fred Again..’s emotional textures—but Cracknell refuses to be derivative. Instead, she uses these touchpoints to build her own language, one where nostalgia and futurism coexist. The synths might nod to the 80s, but the attitude is undeniably 2025.
What makes “Gordon Gekko” stand out is the scope of its ambition. Cracknell doesn’t just want to make you dance—she wants to challenge how we think about power, gender, and success. It’s a track that works both as a club anthem and as cultural commentary, the kind of duality that hints at a fascinating artistic future. If this is her first move, Jordan Cracknell isn’t just playing the game—she’s changing it.
