In Waves (Deluxe)

Artist: Jamie XX

Released: September 2024

Length: 1h 6m 27s

My review:

His third solo album came out nearly a decade after his previous one In Colour and the connection and progression are both heard in the music, but also felt in the metaphorical sense with the names; waves including all the unseen elements (by far the majority) of the same electromagnetic spectrum within which the narrow region of all visible light is found (all the colours). In Waves keeps most of its gritty, underground, bass heavy sound while 'tipping the cap' to the roots of the rave culture through its style and use of samples. It subtly hints at the cyclical nature of the trends and fashions that emerge within the music industry through a more direct and apparent approach, with the physical use of previously recorded music, repurposing and incorporating sections and sounds back into current melting pot that is modern music.

Wanna introduces the album and immediately sets the tone, with the inclusion of some of the more obvious samples, which each house even more hidden snippets from the musical past within their many layers. We hear the Tina Moore Never Gonna Let You Go vocal that got used in a remix two years after its original release which in turn sparked a mini resurgence where it got sampled many more times, Double 99's Ripgroove being the most well known, a pivotal song within the rave culture that includes the classic backspin that can also be heard at the end of Wanna. We are then thrust straight into the action with Treat Each Other Right my favourite song from the album, which I get stuck into in more detail below. The immediate transition into Waited All Night is effortless and smooth, emanating that when a DJ blends two tracks together live and you can’t tell where one starts and the other finishes. I often let the record play through when I am mixing at home, listening to them back to back as they are two of my favourites from the record. Although it is one of the more poppy, chart oriented offerings from the album, the boomy bass and silky vocals make this a clear highlight for me, plus it's always nice to hear the old gang back together (Oliver Sim and Romy, bandmates from The XX both feature on this track). We find ourselves entering the realm of Nu-Disco with Baddy On The Floor which isn’t a bad tune by a long stretch but feels somehow lacking, especially when you see the names of the 3 producers credited on the track and the potential they all posses (Jamie, Honey Dijon and Luke Solomon). Dafodil is a floaty number that has a dream-like structure with overlapping ideas and vocals that seem to function more like a poem than a 'standard' tune, a welcome addition that includes one of the melodies that gets stuck in my head the most after finishing the album. Still Summer was a very close second to my stand out song, and shows exactly what can be achieved with a relatively simple chord progression, some super time-stretching effects and a perfectly placed echo infused vocal. I believe the key to its success lies in its simplicity, there is a really organic feel to it that manages to escape classical characterisation, refusing to be defined and resulting in this unusual sound that creates a slightly uneasy feeling, as Jamie said in an interview with "It ended up sounding more like a strummed guitar, I think, or something that you can’t quite put your finger." Next up is Life, first and foremost a fun track, with its playful nature and lyrics, amplified by the inclusion of Robyn’s laughter, this is a song that pokes fun at itself while simultaneously creating an energetic and upbeat track that feels right at home on the dance floor. The Feeling I Get From You feels more rooted in emotions but holds a sort of paradoxical nature to it for me, with the spoken words capturing a lot of spirit that contrast with the repeated snippets and its title phrase that feel very automated and void of life, the repetitive nature hammers this home. Then that again is contrasted with the beautiful and stirring piano keys that can be heard throughout the track and bring the raw emotion back into the spotlight. Breather gives us everything but, with its high intensity and warped vocal sample that almost feels demonic, brilliantly juxtaposing the message it shares, this one is a chugger. Next up is All You Children that sees Jamie team up with long-time inspirations turned friends The Avalanches. This track is another highlight for me, a hugely fun song with a catchy melody and classic stylistic approach to its choice of samples from both featured artists.

I love the fact that the samples spill over into Every Single Weekend (Interlude) a tune that slows the tempo and echoes the lull before the grand finale, hinting at what is to come. Finally we are treated to Falling Together a climactic ending that extracts elements and ideas from Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot monologue that looks introspectively by assessing our place in the universe. It is humbling message that manages to capture the core theme of love and gratitude for music and dance, a concept that is at the heart of this record, and something that is universally appreciated and understood, traversing genres, languages and entire cultures.

F.U. is a dark and trippy tune that gives off huge basement vibes, it features a recording of an impromptu freestyle from none other than Erykah Badu when they were together at a Primavera afterparty in Barcelona and the decks just stopped working. The beat and intensity of this one remind me of Still Summer, this one is also one of the highlights for me and the first reason to get the deluxe edition of this record. It's So Good calls back to Jamie's earlier works and, for me at least, feels like it wouldn’t be out of place on In Colour with the deep bass, repeated vocal hook and twitchy electronic squeals, it's anthem status is only heightened by the marching band style drums. Things are slowed down for the dreamy soundscape that is Do Something, a pleasant tune but one that doesn't feel like it is missing from the album necessarily. Let's Do It Again was released as a single 2 years before this record and while it sonically is mostly in keeping with In Waves, I think it works as a stand alone project perfectly well, a floaty and uplifting track that I reminds me of being in a festival crowd. Lastly we have Kill Dem which is one of my favourites, a grimy, dubby number that heavily samples Cutty Ranks's Limb By Limb and features plenty of energy and ferocity.

One of the things I really appreciate and respect within Jamie's musical endeavours is his ear for hearing, collecting and then redistributing sounds. The level of detail and time, not only taken to listen to the many different styles and genres of music across countless timelines, but also managing to extract a certain melody, voice or sometimes even a single note and then marry it up with sometimes many other fragments, some old some new, and compiling them together to create a totally new, yet still coherent sound, is mind boggling to me.

Stand out song: Treat Each Other Right 

The first time I heard this song I was mesmerised, and it still keeps hitting the spot thousands more listens in. For me it is the perfect blend of sounds that create that mood and vibe that epitomises a great night on a sweaty dance-floor with your mates. Sonically it has all the best elements, the sped up and warped vocal is taken from Oh My Love by Almeta Lattimore and retains the love-felt message that was present in a lot of Funk, Soul and Disco sounds of the 70's that trickled down, becoming a constant theme of dance music and the rave culture alike, a safe space and feeling of togetherness, memories made and shared on the dance floor. The bass frantically twists and distorts taking on a life-like form that resembles a caged animal that is constantly trying to escape, keeping you alert and locked in. The kick drum further pushes this agenda, amping up the tension with its almost dubstep style pattern. I love the 2 drops in the song and how the vocal snippet becomes a single note that replays building up even more tension before we finally get the release and the return of the bass. A fantastically fresh track that breaks the conventional structure that usually comes with traditional songs, here we have tempo changes and transitions, with sudden micro shifts in energy and intensity.

When to listen: 

This is definitely an album that lends itself to late evenings and the weekends, with its high tempo, club ready tunes and party atmosphere that simply craves a decent sound system and to be shared in a sweat-filled room with close friends and strangers alike. If you cant make it out, simply put this album on and crank the speakers!

Spotify: Listen here

Vinyl:

I went all out and decided to grab a copy of the deluxe edition due to the additional 12" vinyl that includes the 5 bonus tracks, among which are a few firm favourites and I feel their addition really expands and builds on the main body of work well. The 3 discs (1 white, 1 black and the bonus one being a white/black split) are a joy to look at and all come housed in a box that has a version of the main artwork but instead the white part is now transparent, creating a trippy optical illusion when removing the sleeves. I also love the attention to detail in the design, if you have ever wondered why there is a rectangle that features in all of the covers for Jamie's solo music, I believe it represents one quarter of The XX logo that the band adopted (Jamie being the last of the original 4 members to join) although currently they are down to 3 members since Qureshi left shortly after their debut. Despite some bad reviews of people having skips (especially on the bonus disc) my copy plays perfectly, it is an immaculate pressing, quiet and full of bass but never overpowering, it sounds super clean, I can definitely recommend this pressing and you can find it here - Discogs link

Other useful links:

Band page for music & merch - https://www.jamiexx.com/

For those who are interested I have recorded a mix with tracks inspired by and taken from this album, you will also here a few tracks from some of the related albums featured below. You can listen along here on Soundcloud by clicking the link here - https://soundcloud.com/decsloan/in-waves-friends

If you like this try these:

Overmono - Good Lies

Bicep - Isles

The Prodigy - Music For The Jilted Generation