the XX

Week 14: Boygenius- the Record

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Boygenius are a rock supergroup formed in 2018 consisting of Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, and Phoebe Bridgers. The former is the only one I have ever heard of, and I enjoy most of her material. Five years ago, the band also released their self-titled EP. They share common ground, and what makes Boygenius dynamic is their similar tastes in authors and poets. There is more than just a love of music, and unlike most supergroups, this has been formed on music and other passions to make the chemistry extra special. They also have their unique style of writing. Julien Baker is more melancholic, whereas Phoebe Bridgers, although she can sing softly, brings more energy, and Lucy Dacus brings consciousness to the fore.

Here is my track-by-track review of “the Record”:

Without You Without Them:

The opening track begins with the trio singing acapella. The trio exchanging cyphers. 

$20:

This has Julien Baker written all over it (Although I only know of Phoebe’s work, I did a little listening research.), where she gets political and her watermark guitar riffs, which, when you listen to her work, your ear picks up on the familiarity. Of course, as it is a trio, Lucy and Phoebe find a space on the track, with Bridgers doing a 90s-esque grunge rock scream, and Dacus leads the line during the fast tempo and fleshy verses.

Emily, I’m Sorry:

This song is split into two parts. The song title doesn’t fit the narrative that you should expect it to. Instead of being an audio apology letter to a specific individual, it discusses how uncertain life was during the pandemic ( depending on where you live.). You can hear Phoebe’s solo work coming through, but it also shows Boygenius working together to give it that unique sound. 

True Blue: 

This is quite obviously the turn of Lucy again. Why? Because her vocals are at the forefront, whereas Julien and Phoebe’s are more muted. This track is mellow and mid-tempo compared to what has happened so far. You can tell the band work democratically.

Cool About it:

We finally get to the acoustic song on the album with a cameo appearance from the banjo. The track could be described as folk-rock. Each member exchanges a cypher with different variations of bumping into the dreaded ex. The cyphers showcase just how talented each individual is at songwriting.

Not Strong Enough:

Just listening to this, you can tell that Sheryl Crow heavily influenced the trio. The track discusses the hotbed issue of the treatment of women (to this day, unfortunately.) within the industry. The instrumentation itself goes back to the sound more akin to ‘$20’ before developing into something more uplifting, which creates a rush of blood in your body. Synths feature on the bridge, and the strumming of the guitar with effects gives it that indie blend. I can imagine this one doing quite well on the tour. Although the lyrics are blunt, there is a sense of this becoming a tour anthem.

Revolution 0:

Another tender acoustic ballad to welcome in the second half of the album. The song has a frustrated delivery by Phoebe to match the writing. Phoebe ponders what love is and why it is called that if it isn’t love. 

Leonard Cohen:

Well, this is one of the favourite poets they all adore. The late Leonard Cohen was one of the best poets around. There is a nod to one of his tracks from 1992 called ‘the Anthem’. The track is, funnily enough, the shortest on the album, but in no terms does it mean they are insulting his memory. The band discuss the song’s meaning, which is about accepting your own imperfections. Lucy also has an Easter Egg in her verse, so listen out for that. Clue: It has already featured on the album.

Satanist:

This track features dirty and heavy riffs as Phoebe lets out a scream you will hear in many grunge songs. The track changes tempo again after the instrumental break after the bridge with Julien’s question about satanism as the song changes to downtempo and absent of guitars.

We’re in Love:

Phoebe has been taking over a bit with her songs, but Lucy steps up this time, showcasing her ability to write a specific feeling and deliver it on the instrumental. It also sees the band move away temporarily from the rock wall of sound (Depending on what your idea of “rock” is.).

Anti-Curse:

Julien’s turn, this time with a song which talks about romance. After the bridge is the best section of the song, as we hear full-on guitars with cascading drums.

Letter to an Old Poet:

By this point, I was starting to wonder if there was a democracy in the band as we heard yet another Phoebe trademark song. The track is about surrendering to what you used to be. It also has recycled lyrics from ‘Me & My Dog’, featured on the trio’s 2018 extended play. You can hear a crowd in the background. As the song gently fades, Phoebe closes with a message of hope.

You may think, by reading this, that the album is a fantastic listen. Unfortunately, I have masked that by measuring each track individually. Overall, I felt that for a band dubbed “rock”, there were many downtempo moments and many of the shoegaze side of indie. For me, the term “rock” has not been categorised all that well. There are sub-genres, in fact, many for rock, and this one falls under alternative/indie/shoegaze for me. This was more akin to an album by the XX than full-on rock. I was looking forward to hearing “the Record”, but I had to listen to it twice because my concentration wavered somewhat on the first listen. I felt it was all relatively tame for a “rock” album. There is more energy in a Phoebe Bridgers live performance than this.

Song recommendations: ‘Leonard Cohen’, ‘$20’, ‘Cool About it’

7/10

Week 24: Wolf Alice- Blue Weekend

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My introduction to Wolf Alice was either in 2013 or 2014 on Later…with Jools Holland, and their punk attitude with a hard rock sound caught my ear. My favourite track of theirs at the time was ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’ (It still is funnily enough. I love the energy oozing out of it.)I can’t recall if they played that one on Later or if I heard it live at a festival, which made me fall in love with that track. Then, in 2018, they released “Visions of a Life”, which featured such tracks as ‘Beautifully Unconventional'(My favourite off of that record) and ‘Don’t Delete the Kisses’. They would receive a Hyundai Mercury Prize nomination in a strong field that featured the likes of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 2017 and third album “Who Built the Moon?”. The judges who voted chose “Visions of a Life” as their Hyundai Mercury Prize winner in 2018.

Ellie sang beautifully that Sunday night as they performed ‘Don’t Delete the Kisses’. Could Wolf Alice follow up on their Hyundai Mercury Prize-winning album? Some have failed, like the Klaxons and Gomez. The band had their work cut out this time to meet expectations.

However, Wolf Alice accepted the challenge of bettering “Visions of a Life” by employing the services of Markus Dravs, the man responsible for helping Arcade Fire redevelop their sonic outputs as well as Florence and the Machine. Many called this a bold move by Wolf Alice and a surefire signal of their intent; it proved just how brave they were to take a risk on this album and take them another step closer to more accolades.

What is brilliant about this album, and with such a great producer as Markus Dravs on board, is that the album becomes eclectic. If you are trying to understand what that means (Of course, the connoisseurs can sit this part out.), the album in question doesn’t just stick to one or two particular genres but visits a multitude of genres. Some might argue that this is a dangerous precedent; for example, Paul Weller’s “Fat Pop Volume 1” was released last month. Some have criticised that record for being too schizophrenic with how it utilises several genres, but that makes a great album to me. Yes, of course, it is also lovely to listen to a record locked on one or two genres, but the beauty of an eclectic album is your ear doesn’t know what to expect next (Well, on the first listen, at least.),so I applaud Wolf Alice for going in this direction. In the next paragraph, I will describe the various bands/artists I heard within the record.

Funnily enough, I contacted Ellie Rowsell on Twitter as I got to the final track and gave her my thoughts on “Blue Weekend”. I told her I found it dreamy and could hear the XX, My Morning Jacket, Lana Del Rey, Amyl and the Sniffers, Keane and the Temper Trap. That’s how vast sonically the album is. You have tracks such as ‘Play the Greatest Hits’, full-on punk, and you can hear Amyl and the Sniffers there. I mean, literally. If someone listened to this on a blank CD or sent you an untitled file, you would think it was an Amyl and the Sniffers track. ‘How Can I Make it OK’ is a rock ballad, then ‘No Hard Feelings’ is out of the Keane catalogue with its melchanolic sound, lyrics, and keys that Tim Rice-Oxley is synonymous with. The opening track,’the Beach’, is very dreamy and something the XX would do. The track makes you visualise being on a beach as the waves crash gently upon the shore.

‘Delicious Things’ has to be one of the standout moments because it is autobiographical to Ellie Rowsell’s life. In this, she addresses suffering social anxiety and being homesick while in Los Angeles, sleeping with a shady character who only seems attracted to her because of her status as the bandleader and taking drugs when others around her in Tinseltown are. Ellie describes the LA experience to the last detail with utter accuracy.

‘Smile’ is just Ellie telling you what she thinks of your views if you don’t like hers, and she does as she pleases. ‘Play the Greatest Hits’ will sound great live, too, with its full-on punk energy. This one will be great for the tour whenever permitted to commence.

‘No Hard Feelings’ brings the energy levels down on this break-up song with Ellie’s soft vocals, which has an excellent reference to the late Amy Winehouse by including her song title within the lyrics.

‘the Last Man on Earth’ is where the production of Markus Dravs starts to pay off. The track builds slowly from what appears to be a piano ballad but then builds to a grander sound as it progresses. It’s another track that will sound great when the album is taken out on the road.

“Blue Weekend” is a brilliant record with several genres packed into just over 40 minutes of listening. It’s the kind of album you won’t just listen to once or twice but the kind you will want to hear repeatedly. It may be a departure from previous material, but this is their best art to date. As the record ends on the dreamy ‘the Beach II’, your mind starts to wonder whether they will once again receive a Hyundai Mercury Prize nomination because this album is up there with “Visions of a Life”, if not even better. However, the record aims higher than just a Hyundai Mercury Prize. Look out for “Blue Weekend” at several highly regarded music award ceremonies within the following year.

Song recommendations: ‘Delicious Things’, ‘No Hard Feelings’, ‘Play the Greatest Hits’

8/10

Week Thirty: Ellie Goulding- Brightest Blue

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This is more like it. After last week’s piss-poor album on the top spot, we have an album that deserves to be there for its lyrical content, production, and delivery. I remember when I first heard Ellie (I’m pretty sure we all can.), it was the song that started it all for her back in 2010, “Starry Eyed”. Although it is not one of her best or even one of her favourites, in her own opinion, it was still a strong song, and the dubstep break was pure genius, considering how popular the genre was becoming around that time. I can’t say I know much about her debut 2009 single, “Under the Sheets”, which only charted at no.53, but no one will forget “Starry Eyed”, even though it only charted at no.4 and therefore isn’t her highest position of that year, let alone her career. It was everywhere. You walked into a shop, you heard it. You switched on the radio, you heard it. You went to a fast-food restaurant, heard it, switched on the music channels, and heard it. From all that promotion, it saw her debut album “Lights” hit the top spot in her homeland and chart at no.6 in Ireland. A year after being signed, all the hard work paid off in only the beginning of what has been an eleven-year career. She has since had success with the singles “Burn”, “Love Me Like You Do”, and “River”(“River” being a Joni Mitchell cover.) scoring top spots. And every album save for “Delirium”, which was her last, has reached the acme. Bizarrely, it has been half a decade since Ellie last released an album, and it appears that “Brightest Blue” was worth the wait.

This record has been recorded over three years, with the majority done in 2017. I heard a snippet of one of the tracks on the lockdown edition of Later…with Jools Holland. Now, it was difficult to gauge any opinion from it as, as I have mentioned, it was only a brief clip of the music video for “Power”, which subsequently was released a month after the show aired. From the snippet and Ellie’s discussion with Jools about “Brightest Blue”, it sounded promising. I will go into details of how that did indeed turn out to be the case.

The album starts strong and explosive in terms of the production and language with a track aptly named “Start”. The song features a crowd cheering, then Ellie starts to play the piano and what sounds like a slow jam with serpentwithfeet singing through a vocal tube. I don’t know what they are called, but the late Roger Troutman and Jodeci were big fans of utilising the device. Okay, so maybe I exaggerated a bit on the “explosive” part, but the production is, all the same, outstanding. I was leaning towards the language used by Ellie rather than the production. It doesn’t fit in with the slow jam, but it is refreshing to see Ellie pour out her feelings and go with them in a way she seldom sees in terms of swearing in a song.

“Tides” caught my attention much later in the record, and it sounds like a song produced by Jamie XX or, indeed, a song for the XX. I wasn’t too keen on the features as, once again, the artists resorted to using that dreaded autotune. It spoiled some potentially impressive tracks on the second disc, which only renders “Overture” and “Sixteen” worthy of listening.

“Wine Drunk” is a very short track, but you can tell that Bon Iver has inspired Ellie as she used the same vocal effects that Justin Vernon uses. The title track that ends the first disc is a powerful song, and when you look at the lyrical content, it is very poetic. Here is an example of what I mean:

“Even in the calmest seas, now it’s all I wanna be, a semi-precious mystery, yeah I love me more than you, doesn’t mean I can’t be true.”

I love lyrics like that. You could use it for rap as well as for just poetry. Ellie has done a great job on this record, and both discs end strongly with “Brightest Blue” and “Sixteen”.

Ellie is cementing her place in music history, and you can understand why she is still relevant with unique vocals, catchy choruses, lyrics that strike a chord, and her desire to mix up her songs. This is one of her best albums to date. “Brightest Blue” captures your imagination from the very first listen.

Recommendations: “Start”, “Ode to Myself”, “Woman”

8/10

Week Three: the XX- I See You

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Well, I couldn’t write a review during week two because Little Mix’s “Glory Days” was still strong at the album charts’ peak. There was a change, however, in week three, and here is my review of the XX’s “I See You”:

Dangerous:

The introduction is a message to let listeners know that the band is back with a bang (fanfare can be heard). The first thing I noticed about the opening track to “I See You” is that it has a UK Garage feel. There is even a break in it that includes the classic UK Garage sub-low bass that So Solid Crew used quite a bit, among others. The fanfare also makes a return during the chorus and the break.

Say Something Loving:

The pulse at the beginning will fool the listener because it fooled Me. The CD stopped working and was stuck rather than this being the intro to the song in what is the second single off the album. This song has a very laid-back melody, and Ollie’s vocals have remained strong. The song also has the classic signature feel, which has been present since the self-titled debut album.

Lips:

Singing that can be heard in the intro sounds choral (is that the word I am looking for to describe a Church choir?) The African continent certainly inspired the drumming used in the track. Also, there is a handclap that is deployed during the verses. The track ends before you get into it.

A Violent Noise: 

I found this track to be very chilled out. During the verse, you can hear a quiet, steady drum beat that compliments the song well. Despite the track’s name, the song is anything but ferocious.

Performance: 

The light plucking of the electric guitar and the soft bass compliment Romy Madley Croft’s voice superbly. The passion and the emotion is also perfectly executed for the song. Again, as I found on most of the album, it has a very light, delicate and artistic touch included in the song. Violins can be heard towards the end and at the outro.

Replica:

Now, we are at the business end of the album (which, despite remaining chilled out, I have enjoyed listening to). The break with the pulsing keyboard seems like a build-up, but when the song kicks in during the break, there is still only a steady guitar riff and the keyboard is accompanied by a piano before there are more vocals and the track ends.

Broken For You:

The guitar solo before the mini-break is very subtle and calm. I listened to the crash of a gentle wave during this song; it is that relaxed.

On Hold:

This track was the teaser late last year for the forthcoming album and was released as the first single off the album. I enjoyed the riff of the electric and the bass guitar. The repetitive lyrics of the chorus always meant that this track was destined to be released as a single. During the intro and after the chorus, a sampled quote is repeated.

I Dare You:

Again, the XX have stuck to their guns and carried on the theme that has so far featured on the album (steady, calm and very chilled out, albeit the opening track). In the chorus, that classic hook is evident, and I couldn’t help but feel that the harmony used was inspired by Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody”. Once again, the track is short and sweet, which also points towards a radio-friendly single.

Test Me:

The album’s conclusion has a very oceanic vibe as if you are deep-sea diving and exploring the wonders of the belly of the ocean and what it has to offer.

Overall Review:

I have been a fan of the XX since hearing “Islands”, and I thought the review would be quite elementary, but I must confess that I struggled somewhat as the album after the opening track doesn’t seem to deviate much. It is a good thing because, on the whole, it is yet again another good album by the band and fully deserving of its number-one placing, but it didn’t challenge me to write a longer review on each track. They say the XX is classed as Indie/Alternative, but I would say that “I See You” (albeit track one) sits comfortably in the chill-out genre. The vocals supplied by Ollie and Romy are again exemplary, and I can see the band continuing despite Jamie XX recently working on his solo material and DJing. I sensed that I was stranded on a desert island listening to the sound of the waves gently crashing onto the island’s shore, or I was exploring the wonders of the ocean whilst deep-sea diving. The album was short and sweet, with the play time lasting just 40 minutes. It also has plenty of radio-friendly tracks that can be used as future singles, for example, “I Dare You” and “Lips”. If you’re a fan of the XX, you will like this album regardless, but if you are not, you might feel that the album should have more go in it. 7/10