Long time fan of Jamie xx: Loved We’re New Here, was buying the 12" singles in the run up to In Colour, and really loved the rush of that release and the live shows that follows. Plus much love for the extremely committed branding. And then, something in my head clicked and with no love lost for the records I knew, suddenly it felt like he had a schtick that wasn’t for me any more. I couldn’t really explain it, but the new singles kinda drifted past me.
Anyway. The first two listens to this album flubbed off me the same way. And then the third… absolutely hit. I’m back. The flow of the mix is… More
excellent and effortless, reminded me of the pure glee I felt as a teenager when a new chemical brothers or basement jaxx would drop, so many ideas and little cool touches sprinkled throughout. I'm not into dance music so much these days but this is still a great listen
I think this is a stonker of an album with no dud tracks. The intensity of its feel-good vibes has me dancing around the kitchen on every listen (assuming I am in the kitchen). Special shout outs to Baddy on the Floor (obv), Dafodil, Life, and The Feeling I Get From You.
Rated down half a point because maybe it’s too predictable. But I’m usually a ‘more of the same is fine by me, as long as it bangs’ kinda guy, so it’s no biggie
Jamie xx has always worn his influences on his sleeve, but on In Colour it felt like he’d worked on developing a hybrid of these sounds that had its own identity. It was decent, well-produced crowdpleaser music that had ebbs and flows, and earworms that soundtracked the summer of 2015.
In Waves feels like it’s lost that identity. It’s another polished album but it does away with the slower, moodier tracks that made In Colour a more interesting listening experience, leaving wall-to-wall dance cuts that are overly derivative. I can’t help but hear sections – and even whole tracks – that sound like Daft Punk, Jon Hopkins and Frankie Knuckles amongst others, making me wonder why I’m… More
He does it again. Big ol’ 3/3; a perfect example of why waiting a while between releases can be worth it. After almost 10 years, he’s back with an album that takes modern trends in electronic and makes them into his own sounds. Not every song is perfect, but they all seem to blend well, making good use of most of the features to break up the album a bit (shout out “Daffodil” and “Life”). However, I think the strongest tracks by far are the solo material (i.e. “Treat Each Other Right” and “Still Summer”). Does it scratch the same itches as We’re New Here or In Colour? No, but it isn’t trying to do… More
Quizá me dejo llevar por las primeras y excitantes impresiones ante un nuevo album de un artista al que adoras, pero en la balanza hay cierta objetividad y es que gran parte de los temas de este album ya llevan sonando (y ya llevo escuchando) hace meses.
Este disco acentúa todas las virtudes que posee Jamie XX, esos ritmos demoledores pero esas pausas heredadas de su graduación con su antigua banda, que aquí también se unen a la fiesta, junto a otros invitados que encajan con la estética y sonido del album (Robyn, The Avalanches...). Priman las atmósferas oscuras, pero también esa mezcolanza alegre que pocos son capaces de casar.
Este es un album hecho a medida para ser quemado… More
I'm pleasantly surprised at how this turned out — I was feeling pretty skeptical with the singles that he released leading up to the full album... but it pulled together really nicely.
The Apple Music review of this album nails one thing... Jamie is definitely chasing the club trends with this album. It doesn't feel as monumental as In Colour. It really doesn't define any unique space, but fits nicely in with the other club kiddies. Lots of great tunes that are easy to dance too, heavy with rinsed vocal features.
Apple's review mentioned something about how this was inspired by 'dreams of how it would feel to play big tunes for audiences again' after the COVID lockdowns, which feels a… More
This album shows that Jamie xx is, still, a 90s bitch. In a very good way. Where his music could easily veer into pastiche and caricature, he's molded the past into something precious and sweet.
The result is a dancey electronic album with a lot of bounce. Intro song 'Wanna' touches on what The xx made on their latest album, and just jump a couple of tracks to 'Baddy On The Floor', a Basement Jaxx-wafting banger that's pure fun.
Every song feels like Jamie xx loves music and wants to convey that feeling through creation. Check out the soulful 'Dafodil', where the human voice gets looped and treated to a simple beat and occational reverb and garage-y piano; this is… More