It’s been a decade since Jamie xx’s last solo full-length. In Waves, his latest, arrives like a pool party masquerading as an ocean. The record sees the producer trading his signature minimalism for a grab-bag of dance floor confetti, resulting in what feels like something stylistically unfocussed and in search of a target audience.
The album is a kaleidoscope of guest spots and samples. Nikki Giovanni’s Black Arts Movement poetry gets reimagined via The Avalanches into psychedelic pop that’s more welcoming than revolutionary. Dafodil throws Kelsey Lu, John Glacier, Panda Bear, and bizarrely, A$AP Rocky into an electroclash fever dream that somehow doesn’t completely fall apart, and probably best sums up the experience of In Waves as a whole.
There’s also heavy influences from queer culture and the ballroom scene mixed into the fold, and while these tracks aren’t particularly awful, they don’t really make much sense in the context of In Waves or xx himself, coming off as a bit of performative inclusivity. On Baddy on the Floor, featuring the iconic Honey Dijon, he finally lets loose with a gospel-house stormer that makes a solid case for salvation through rhythm. Life gives Robyn the floor to command “Let’s fuck it up tonight” over French-touched house – and honestly, who could refuse?
In Waves often feels like it’s keeping its head above water rather than diving deep. Breather attempts to soundtrack a panic attack with limp mindfulness mantras, but ends up more hesitant than heaving. Even the reunion with The xx bandmates on Waited All Night feels like it’s edging us cruelly – always holding back from the peak it keeps promising.
In Waves settles for being the soundtrack to your next social media memory rather than the memory itself. It’s an album that knows the mechanics of dance music and the euphoria that it can induce, but seems oddly reluctant to fully embrace them. The result is a record that’s pristinely produced and perfectly pleasant, but ultimately more paddling pool than pacific – less a tidal wave of emotion, more a gentle ripple of appreciation.
