REVIEW: Jamie XX - In Colour

Having seen Jamie XX play live and watched his Boiler Room set maybe a little bit too much, I knew his style was nothing but mixed. The guy played a 90-minute set at Falls Festival that honestly seemed like a toddler playing with iTunes, randomly selecting tracks ranging from Barnt to The Clash. But here’s the thing - it worked… The mix had one thing in common – fun. People were going wild, with his seamless transitions providing plenty of hip shaking grooves. Even on In Colour the final page of the 12” record lists all of the samples used, and it’s a hefty, hefty list. It’s clear his diverse style hasn't gone anywhere for his second LP.

The opener Gosh reinforces Smith’s huge influences from early UK dance music, borrowing massive traits from jungle and drum and bass genres. The opening beat stays isolated for seconds until several others synths and vocal samples are thrown on top of it. Layer upon layer it develops into a dense and heavy song, and at around two minutes the track takes a swerve into a disappointing direction. The strong introductory beat remains while the epic vocal sample is washed away by synths and soulful keyboard solo – which seems rather out of place given the introduction. But then I am reminded of who I am listening to, I’m listening to that guy who mixes everything, a praised ‘crate digger’ who flips between songs like that aforementioned toddler – and you’ve got to give it to the man for sustaining his style.

The next tracks follow similar progressions from Gosh, adding layer upon layer with an underlying off beat snare and a constant kick. While Sleep Sound is one of the strongest tracks of the album, it is cut short and moves into track three, our first introduction from The XX other than Jamie himself – Romy. It’s difficult to hear her outside of The XX, as I was so used to her voice accompanied with crunchy drums and elongated guitar riffs. Despite this, SeeSaw never really goes anywhere… it stays fixed in one location… there’s no crux of the song, there’s no pinnacle moment like that seen on Sleep Sound. Her vocals “…with you…” fade away and then we are reintroduced with more chatter as seen in Gosh. Perhaps an attempt to make the record seem more holistic? Doesn’t really add much to the album.

Obvs honestly seems like some sort of ironic joke, and the abuse of steel drums leaves me wondering whether Smith is actually an undercover Trinidadian attempting to make the instrument more relevant in the mainstream. The wispy interlude Just Saying (because, lets be honest, its too short to be a song) is a subtle reminder of The XX, with the reverberating piano nodding to their earlier styles. Smith seems to be grabbing onto anything he is familiar with and throwing it in to the 43 minute album.

Strangers In A Room Opens with a delicate pattern, begging for a thumping 808 kick transforming it into a techno mood lifter. However, with the inclusion of Oliver Sim’s lyrics we take a step into The XX – again – something familiar with Smith. The song turns into a melancholic journey, with Sim sounding like an owl as he passively “ooh”’s away into the distance.

Hold Tight, serves as the up-lifter I was seeking, providing a nice contrast to the previous track, but entering the album like that one friend at your house who’s just way too loud --- it’s hardly subtle. Sadly the song just follows the exact same method used elsewhere in the album… Inclusions of familiar instruments, inclusions of a shit load of samples, inclusions of some flange and some modification to the highs and lows… some reverb here and there… and even some guy shouting nouns into a microphone… checklist, anyone? I really wish Smith took more risks on In Colour – changing the formula, changing what goes where on songs, as it all becomes quite predictable after a while.   

The most accessible song, Loud Places, is destined for the charts. The guitar riff is beyond reminiscent of Smith’s earlier days with The XX, and the inclusion of some pounding drums the song serves to lift the song above other tracks on the LP that feature members of The XX. The background gospel chanting is perhaps a layer too much, but it serves a purpose here, unlike some of the other samples used on previous tracks.

I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times) despite being a potential summertime banger feels like it doesn’t belong… I had to double-check my iTunes to see if a song from a miscellaneous album snuck its way into In Colour. I really struggle to see where this song fits within the whole – but then I realized that perhaps this album has no whole. It really fails to have a central mass and a constant theme, as it is too busy swaying between genres and samples – too busy mixing too much – like a shitty chemist.

Overall this album is an immense and dense effort from Smith, and all respect to the 20-something for producing such a heavy record. However, ultimately, the overdone tracks featuring far too many layers and sounds fail to scratch beneath the surface. The instruments struggle to have their individual soul as they are competing with far too many neighboring sounds. The mixed samples that were previously so appealing in his DJ sets become mundane and overdone as the checklist-like song development continues all the way to the album closer Girl. Sadly, these detrimental aspects leave the album without any explicit meaning, and I don't think the vocal samples provide any clues, either. 

Words by Matt.