Jacob Read was born in 1992 in Denmark Hill, South East London,[1] to artist parents, an American mother and English father.

[7] Read is a childhood friend and neighbour of London musician Archie Marshall, better known as King Krule.

[10] Read first released a version of 'Shadowshow',[11] which would later appear on his debut album 'Air Con Eden', on SoundCloud and Bandcamp under the name Jerkcurb in 2010.

[18][19][20][2][21] At Metacritic, which aggregates ratings from critics, Air Con Eden has a score of 80 indicating "generally favourable reviews"[22] Following the release of the album, Jerkcurb completed a tour of the UK.

[23] Jerkcurb's cited influences include 1950s Exotica,[24] Tom Waits,[4] Roy Orbison, Delia Derbyshire and Grouper.

[25][26] Jerkcurb has also frequently provided support for King Krule, including as part of his 2023 world tour.