Jamie XX - In Waves
Jamie XX - In Waves
Indie exclusive white vinyl
From Allmusic guide:
In Colour's ecstatic epiphanies were so loved, and so influential, it's understandable why Jamie xx spent years working on smaller projects and learning to surf instead of delivering his second album on someone else's timetable. As if anticipating the raised stakes of a nine-year wait, on In Waves, the producer focuses on embracing the now. Sparked by his 2020 Essential Mix for BBC Radio and honed in front of countless crowds, the album feels like a transformative night out at the club. It's evident not just in the way he flexes his chops on "Treat Each Other Right"'s exhilarating shifts but in how he mixes and fades moods. If he brought a rainbow of emotions to In Colour, on In Waves he rides their joyous peaks and pensive ebbs. Wisely, he doesn't try to make up for lost time with wall-to-wall bangers, though there's an embarrassment of riches in that department. The Honey Dijoncollaboration "Baddy on the Floor" is one such highlight, bringing a brassy immediacy to its reverent disco and funk roots. Another beloved diva, Robyn, graces the swelling filter-disco of "Life," which traces love at first sight from the first kiss to the morning after. Not all of In Waves' high-energy moments are so straightforward; "Breather," a fusion of pummeling rhythms and guided meditation, finds zen in the middle of a sweaty club. Jamie xx's gift for painting pictures and telling stories through well-chosen samples is particularly expressive on tracks like this and "Wanna," where an airhorn and echoing vocals instantly put listeners on the dancefloor, anticipating the elation that can only be felt in a crowd. Similarly, In Waves' overflowing guest list of collaborators helps Jamie xx take his music to greater heights. Equal parts irresistible melody and undeniable grooves, his reunion with xxbandmates Romy and Oliver Sim "Waited All Night" is one of their liveliest, catchiest collaborations, while "All You Children," his team-up with longtime friends the Avalanches, is so infectious it could win over even the most reluctant clubgoer (just how much inspiration the producer still takes from the Australian legends surfaces on the romantic collage "The Feeling I Get from You"). Kelsey Lu, John Glacier, and Panda Bear further expand the album's horizons on the summery centerpiece "Dafodil," trading memories of magical nights out on spoken-word verses and lush choruses that send their collective energy "floating on clouds of ecstasy." This message of unity reaches cosmic proportions on "Falling Together," which closes the album with a bubbling realization that the insignificance of the "pale blue dot" we inhabit makes seizing the moment all the more important. Though such sentiments could be painfully earnest, Irish dancer Oona Doherty's droll delivery ensures it's precisely the heartfelt yet kinetic finale the album needed. Likewise, In Waves sounds like the music Jamie xx needed to make at this point in his career -- its love letter to the communal healing power of dance music is often more purposeful, and more satisfying, than his instant-classic debut.