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“I See You” – The xx (Album Review)

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Album Review

‘I See You’ by The XX

By Thomas Murga

 

Since I’ve never personally listened to a whole body of work from The XX before, I have no way of comparing their music to their earlier works. But, as an album, “I See You” stands on it’s own. It does contain some recognizable samples, such as the Alessi Brothers’ “Do You Feel It” on “Say Something Loving,” and David Lang’s “Just (After Song Of Songs)” on standout track “Lips.”

 

But don’t let the amount of samples on this album scare you away, because The XX take these inspirations and make them their own.

 

“You are dangerous, but I don’t care / I’m going to pretend that I’m not scared,” lead vocalists Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim sing throughout the booming album opener “Dangerous,” setting the mood of a reckless, yet intoxicating love for the rest of the album.

 

Sadly, the album finds itself in a tight corner with having the emotional capacities to make four-minute songs sound like eight minutes. With the tracks “Replica” and “Brave for You,” they just tend to sound super repetitive and boring after the three-minute mark; with not having very much else to offer after awhile. So, when four out of 10 of your tracks follow this method of carrying longer than they should, it’s brings down the strong momentum of the album.

 

“I See You“ is an album that does what many others like it strive to do – develop its own unique sound. The nostalgia factor of this album is the driving force, and it does its job well, but when the album falls, it breaks the illusion the album built up. In my opinion, it’s definitely worth a listen. This album feels like it could be received differently by almost anyone, and I think that’s part of the charm.

 

My favorite tracks are:

Dangerous, Say Something Loving, Lips, Performance, On Hold

My least favorite tracks are:

Replica, Brave For You, I Dare You

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