Jamie xx
In Colour
YOUNG TURKS
8/10
A veritable zeitgeist of one, Jamie xx has managed to spin off from his soul-goth namesake band into an agent of perpetual buzz generation. With three years having past since The xx’s last record—and with merely DJing and remixing surely insufficient in satisfying his dark-hearted little minions—Jamie xx has gone and reached back to his youthful electronic fetishes for solo inspiration. The process, ostensibly, brought out the glitch-monster in him.
In Colour is definitely a producer’s record. It’s meant to show off his clever talent for sound manipulation, and there’s an overarching, trip-hoppy languidness to much of it, especially on the prettily drowsy “Sleep Sound.” With that, of course, come the obligatory backmasked beats, which give the dreamy “Just Saying” a fascinating and surreal quality. He even gets a little help from his xx friends, with Oliver Sim mysteriously mumblecoring over the lethargy-chic of “Stranger in a Room,” and Romy Madley Croft sweetly crooning to beguiling effect on “Seesaw” and the exuberant electro-gospel stunner “Loud Places.” Mind, it’s a lot of tranquility for a summer release, but, then again, every season needs its beautiful comedown record.
