Introspective club may sound ridiculous, but as Jaime xx show us with his impressive debut, “In Colour,” hearing is believing.
Read any interviews with , the producer behind the darkly rhythmic rock band the xx, and you’ll notice a theme. Real name Jamie Smith, he’s bashful, often portrayed avoiding eye contact while regaling a journalist about, say, that time he was to Rihanna backstage. He’s a listener first, in other words, a strength that factors into the studied, sample-driven DJ sets he’s taken from London’s underground dance scene to the American midwest and beyond.
“In Colour,” Smith’s debut album, has the 26-year-old producer seizing centerstage on his own terms. While most club music is a smash-and-grab job—pique your audience a few times, hurt their speakers and get out—“In Colour” is as viable on a rainy walk home as it is in the musty haze of a dance floor.
For those looking for a party starter, this makes for some oddly quiet patches. The middle of the album—from “Obvs” through “Hold Tight”—is devoid of any drops, the prized (and ) bass explosions typically found in the lulls of modern American dance music. Smith prefers subtlety, massaging steel drums, electric guitar and nearly unrecognizable piano into alternately frantic (“Obvs”) and languid (“Just Saying”) set pieces.
The ecstatic releases here aren’t moments in songs; they are songs themselves. “In Colour” is structured like one massive swell, building towards a traditional release only its last movement. “Loud Places” is the third and final appearance by the other two-thirds of the xx, but the first time “In Colour” truly swings for the airwaves. Itap your typical the xx song, but inverted: Smith’s production up front, spinning an ecstatic , with singer/bassist Romy Madley Croft occasionally finessing a chorus under it. “There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)” bridges immediately afterwards, and itap an easy highlight, marred only by Young Thug’s almost exclusively embarrassing throwaways bars.
As you might expect considering Smith’s strengths, one of the finest moments on the album comes as the swell beats back. “ is a prime example of Smith’s mastery of the long game, piecing together a deceptively complex collage off a simple clap track, solidifying into the triumphant last notes of a night out. Like much of “In Colour,” itap lush and expressive enough to be appreciated by your lonesome, but far from tetchy mood the xx first introduced themselves with in their music and . Itap an anthem for the silent disco, those masses swaying together in mysterious, headphoned unity in the big tent music festivals of today. For “In Colour,” count it as one of many dazzling juxtapositions: vibrant but underplayed, contemplative and bombastic. Introspective club may sound ridiculous, but as Jamie xx show us with his impressive debut, hearing is believing.
