Album of the Year 2017 #46: The xx - I See You
Sup y'all, welcome back to the AOTY series. Noted fan /u/Yoooooouuuuuuuu is here to sell the xx’s more extroverted third album, I See You.
Artist:The xx
Album: I See You
Buy I See You by The xx on Bleep. Available on Vinyl LP, CD. Download MP3, WAV, FLAC, 24-bit WAV. The Xx I See You (Japan Version) [iTunes Plus M4A] zip. Name: The xx - I See You (Japan Version) [iTunes Plus M4A].zip; Size: 91.38 MB.
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Background by /u/Yoooooouuuuuuuu
The xx are a UK trio who started making music together back in 2005, when they attended the same school that Burial and Hot Chip once did. The band consists of bassist Oliver Sim, guitarist Romy Madley Croft, and producer Jamie xx. Their self-titled debut in 2009 was met with strong critical acclaim and commercial success, and its focus on minimalism and intimacy has proved very influential to artists throughout the current decade. In 2012, they released their follow-up, Coexist, to much more mixed reviews. Since then, the band members have pursued separate projects and lifestyles. Oliver has experienced the good and the bad of fame, being featured as a model for Dior while also battling alcoholism. Romy has been more quiet, recently getting engaged to her long-term partner. Jamie has had by far the most success and attention; working with artists like Drake, Gil Scott-Heron, and Alicia Keys provided him with the experience and recognition to release his solo debut In Colour, which garnered huge acclaim and is often regarded as one of the best albums of 2015. Both band members were featured on the album, drawing speculation as to the potential of a full band album with Jamie’s newfound production capability. Leading up to the beginning of 2017, the band was spotted in the studio several times, finally releasing the lead single “On Hold” and giving a firm release date for I See You last November (but we knew before everyone, shoutout /u/days-of-candy). The album has garnered critical and commercial recognition over the past year, and has placed high in multiple Album of the Year lists.
Review by /u/Yoooooouuuuuuuu
Some bands don’t progress at all over the course of their careers. Some bands change too much and become something completely unrecognizable. Looking at the xx’s debut and their third album, I See You, the band has progressed in all the right ways. Going into the writing and recording process for their third album, the trio tossed out a few of their typical guidelines; they wanted the vocals to be more bombastic, since they weren’t afraid to sing out and be out of themselves like they were at the beginning of their careers. With Jamie’s skills as a producer, they also no longer wanted to be limited by what they could explicitly recreate on stage, opening up the possibilities to more sounds and styles. With these previous limitations repealed, the xx found themselves able to make an album much more suited to their current lifestyles than if they had just resorted to remaking their debut, but at their core Oliver, Romy, and Jamie were still the same introverts they were as teenagers. I See You exhibits this clash to powerful effect.
The album opens with “Dangerous”’s blaring horns, something the band has never employed before, so you know at this point that the next 40 minutes are going to be very different from anything else the group has done. The percussion then kicks in and sounds like it could be straight from In Colour, making it clear that Jamie’s ideas are going to be hugely prevalent here. “Dangerous” is a prime example of how those ideas can still work with the whole band without butting the other two members out, as Oliver’s bass and Romy’s guitar are still an integral part of the song. The track is also a ton of fun, and if that bassline and percussion don’t get you dancing by the chorus I don’t know what to tell you.
From here, I See You takes all sorts of twists and turns. “Say Something Loving” is a more traditional xx song, with the two vocalists trading off and signature xx-style lines like “Here come my insecurities, I almost expect you to leave.” However, it maintains being a much fuller sound than the band’s previous music, and that Alessi Brothers vocal sample is not going to be the last of its kind. In fact, “Lips” follows with a vocal sample of its own, along with Romy and Oliver crooning over one of the slickest songs the band has made yet. That descending synth that pops up throughout the song is extremely catchy, and Romy’s guitar is used in limited amounts but to great effect.
“A Violent Noise” is a direct confrontation of the party lifestyle the band got used to, as well as Oliver and Romy discussing the former’s problems with alcohol. The duo questions where the line is between having fun and celebrating your achievements, and getting away from everything recklessly to the point where it hurts the people who care about you. Jamie supports with synths and production that sounds like a never-ending pre-chorus, where it never quite reaches that huge explosion that songs like “Dangerous” do. In a way, though, the point of the song is that sometimes playing hard can turn into a problem, so this restraint from blowing it all out makes sense and becomes an interesting aspect of the song. “Performance” closes out the A-side as the signature Romy solo song, and adds violins in to help Romy portray her internal tension between trying to show off for someone and trying to improve for herself. The screeching violins contrast well with Romy’s guitar riff at the bridge.
The second half opens with “Replica,” on which Oliver poses the question of whether he is doomed to repeat the past mistakes of his parents. This is coupled with some of the best production on the album, Jamie’s synths pairing perfectly with the looping bass and guitar. It’s probably the closest to the original sound the group reaches on I See You, and even then it’s still clear that they’ve come a long way musically. “Brave For You” opens with an icy synth and Romy’s ballad chops stepping up to the plate. The song is Romy’s first direct reference to her parents, who had both passed earlier in her life, her mother when she was young and her father not long after the band released their debut. Romy still clearly has a lot of feelings towards this, and she lets some of that emotion out, her voice sounding close to breaking. However, the song becomes very uplifting by the chorus, and instead of approaching the topic with sadness, Romy focuses on making her parents proud by trying new things and doing her best in her artistic pursuits. Her guitar goes from sounding like a usual riff to something more bombastic alongside the rest of the production and lyrics.
“On Hold,” the lead single, marks a tone shift from the album’s downtempo midsection to the more danceable feeling that was present in the first few tracks. That Hall & Oates sample is still great. “I Dare You” has another dance beat, though this time with more tender lyrics and instrumentation. Jamie’s whining, siren-like synths make another appearance here and are used to some of their best effect. The album’s closer, “Test Me,” starts as a piano ballad in a throwback to the closer of their first album, “Stars.” The lyrics involve each of the band members reminding each other that despite the adversity and clashes they have, they will always love and appreciate each other. Halfway through, the song turns into a soundscape-oriented ambient pop song, and phenomenally so. Jamie clearly has strong abilities producing these kinds of songs; the single version of “Sleep Sound” is still my favorite work of his. Perhaps this is hinting at what the future might contain; I certainly hope so, as the chopped-up, echoing vocals at the end send chills up my spine and constitute one of my favorite parts of the album. The song and album close with one last siren from Jamie.
The Xx I See You Download Movie
Looking at the whole instead of the individual songs proves even more rewarding. One of the major strengths of the album is that it flows incredibly well, with the uptempo and downtempo tracks distributed evenly among its runtime, so that each song fits in its place and sounds better in the context of the album than it does individually. I don’t listen to the singles on shuffle nearly as often as I just listen to the whole thing, and at a quick 40 minutes it’s not a huge commitment.
I was originally worried that I See You didn’t have the depth to hold out over a long period of time, but even coming back to it 11 months later I’m still finding plenty of new things and gaining new appreciation for some of the lyrics. While there are some lines that fall short, those are typically in the more danceable tracks, so it’s easy to ignore. Jamie’s production never overpowers the rest of the band, which is something that could easily happen with the talent he’s shown; instead he continually focuses on adding to Oliver and Romy’s contributions. I See You may not have the best songs of the year or of the band’s discography, but each component works with the others to create something much bigger than the sum of its parts. While it’s clear that each member of the xx has grown personally and artistically since the start of their careers, I See You is their message to each other that despite the changing world they still love and care for each other. I don’t think that message will ever stop being important.
Favorite Lyrics by /u/Yoooooouuuuuuuu
Let a moment take place
Without running away
I hope you silence the noise
“A Violent Noise”
Another encore to an aftershow
Do I chase the night or does the night chase me?
“Replica”
I can hear it now like I heard it then
“I Dare You”
Just take it out on me
It’s easier than saying what you mean
The Xx I See You
Test me, see if I break
Tell me this time that you’ve changed
The Xx I See You Download Full
“Test Me”
Talking Points by /u/Yoooooouuuuuuuu
Do you prefer the uptempo tracks or the more downtempo ones?
Are Romy and Oliver’s more outgoing vocals an improvement or a setback?
How well does Jamie’s production work with the strengths of the other two band members?
How does I See You compare with the xx’s and Jamie xx’s previous output? If you were a fan of In Colour, do you think Jamie’s talents was utilized well on this album?
Where do you think the band should go from here?
Big thanks to /u/Yoooooouuuuuuuu for the dope write-up. Tomorrow we have /u/jsjsjsjs321 taking on the National’s troubled Sleep Well Beast and /u/Killatrap following up last year’s beast of a write-up to talk Kevin Morby’s City Music, so stay tuned for both. (And refrain from username puns in the comments, if you would.)