Rating: 9/10
Thank God Jamie xx is British, so I never have to correct my spelling when typing his album title. Go, Commonwealth! Not really, but go proper spelling.
Riding on a few well-released and quite hyped up singles, Jamie xx’s solo debut has been very highly anticipated for some time. Since every time I listen to The xx or Jamie, I have a semi-religious experience (and because my desktop is not working and my Chromebook isn’t fit for downloading), I decided to not listen to the leak from a week ago, and am now enjoying it on Spotify, having a borderline spiritual episode.
Over the last years, Jamie xx has been building an incredible portfolio of works and remixes, not only with his band, but as a solo artist as well. He’s been growing his skills and adapting into future sounds, developing his remixes and synths and drops into something that can, at some point, be easily identified as Jamie xx. In Colour is sort of the mass culmination of all his works and efforts– finally, he decided it was time for a debut. Finally, we can hear the sounds that he actually wants to make and thinks are the best. Drastically different from The xx, but still drawing on similar influences, Jamie xx began stepping into his solo spotlight a little while ago.
The album is slow at times, but definitely has its own rhythms. “Stranger in a Room” featuring Oliver Sim is an early favourite, but I’ve still got to listen to the album a couple hundred more times. I really want to do this album justice with this review, but I don’t really know what to say– the music crescendos and swells at just the right times, like a sampled, synthesized symphony. The album, though at times fairly sexy, remains mostly sensual– like something to make “goodbye” love to rather than something to fuck to.
It’s amazing, really. Jamie xx is a phenomenal producer and musician, and his In Colour debut couldn’t be any more perfectly made or named– it is in colour, a rainbow explosion showcasing Jamie xx’s entire musical range and talent, finally exposing his work outside of The xx and allowing him to focus on stranger, more layered, more complex and thoughtful sounds.
This album was entirely worth all the hype. The years he kept us waiting are ultimately forgiven.
