XL レコード& CD

Review: ***B-STOCK: Without original outer box, product has light surface marks but otherwise in perfect working condition.***


Twenty years ago it sounded like an oddly poignant evocation of pre-millennial tension. Two decades later it stands as an eerily prescient glimpe into the technological alienation and dislocation of of a new era. Yet more importantly, OK Computer is no more or less than a sparkling, dramatic and moving collection of songs that haven't lost any of their impact in the interim. The sound of a band stubbornly refusing to follow up the stadium-strafing stylings of its predecessor The Bends - and instead bursting headlong into experimentation and wild creativity -is portrayed in still more vivid colours by the alarmingly strong collection of out-takes and B-sides collected herein, Yet there's no getting away from the chill and spark that marked out OK Computer from everything surrounding it in the post-Britpop malaise, and continues to do so in the pre-Brexit counterpart.

Review: Burial drops his latest two-tracker on XL, two chaotic breakbeat balancing acts firmly rooted in rushy UK 'ardkore and day-glo 80s freestyle respectively. The A is a nail-biting, cavernous tweak out, which Burial pipes out into the darkest, most paranoid corners of the rave, exhuming frazzled dancers and inducing a queasy euphoria that any seasoned hedonists will recognise all too well. 'Boy Sent From Above', on the other hand seems to chart the passage of an obsessive, icy winter graff mission, with tinny drum machines, saccharine squarewave arpeggio hooks and spraycan samples harking back to the heyday of B-Boy electro, Miami freestyle and NYC breaking with devastating efficacy, albeit seen through Burial's unmistakeable misty-eyed LDN gauze; chrome and black over day-glo. Dreamfear marks yet another welcome switch up in Burial's artistic direction, and makes for one of the most evocative, moving and transporting entries in his much pored-over catalogue.

Review: Given their Radiohead connections Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood make up two thirds of the band), there's always been an enormous amount of interest in The Smile - a lockdown-born project that has plenty of potential. Wall of Eyes, the trio's second album, is certainly impressive. For proof, check the moody, suspenseful and slowly unfurling title track (all pulsing, low-slung semi-acoustic grooves, eyes-closed vocals, dense electronic textures and soundtrack strings), the heady, subtly jazz-flecked wall of sound that is 'Friend of a Friend' (listen out for the music concrete-style sound collage sitting in the background of the White Album era Beatles-esque 'Friend of a Friend'), and the lo-fi, string-laden headiness of the largely beat-free 'Bending Heretic', whose cut-glass horror strings and Nine Inch Nails style guitars are impressively intense at times.

Review: The Smile's new album Wall Of Eyes, set to be released on on XL Recordings and the alternative moniker of Radiohead members Jonny Greenwood, Thom Yorke and drummer Tom Skinnner. It was recorded between Oxford and Abbey Road Studios, and is produced and mixed Sam Petts-Davies. It features string arrangements by the London Contemporary Orchestra. Wall Of Eyes is the follow up their 2022 debut LP A Light For Attracting Attention.

Review: Recorded between Oxford and Abbey Road, The Smile (Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, and Tom Skinner of Sons Of Kemet) is the second full-length LP by the fantasy troupe, following up 2022's A Light For Attracting Attention. On first announcement, speculation abounded that it was tangentially related to Radiohead's 2011 album The King Of Limbs, since the phrase "wall of eyes" appeared in its promo material - though this album is decidedly different in sound and centres in on themes such as the isolation of fame and Kaufman-esque surrealisms.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Once again, XL Recordings resupply our vitals with Basement Jaxx's life-giving audio elixir 'Remedy', their joyous debut album from 1999. Renowned for its sensuous themes, international palette of influences and, of course, its basis in bangerized house music, tracks like 'Red Alert' and 'Jump n' Shout' paved the way for much big beat, electro and pop house to come.

Review: God bless XL Recordings. The UK label has been at the forefront of boundary pushing music since its inception, and almost 35 years remains a seal of quality. A constant source of inspiring surprises and new sonic experiences. The kind of organisation that will take a punt on British polymath Jai Paul's demo album, which, by all accounts, is pretty hard to describe, let alone define. More so, the type of team that would, eight years earlier, support and release one of the artist's earliest songs, 'BTSTU'. Coming full circle, that tune closes this collection of stuff produced around the same time, all of which was going to form the debut album, Bait Ones. One low-quality CD-R of the work stolen and then leaked online later, and the artist stepped away from music until the end of the last decade, when this "perfectly imperfect" LP was finally allowed to see the light of day. A lo fi, glitchy, trippy, granular, sexy sound that owes as much to hip hop, pop and r&b as experimental noise, ambient dub, and electronic soul.

Review: XL have been steadily building up momentum with CASISDEAD over the past few years, while the cult rapper had been leaving a breadcrumb trail of music to an ever-growing fanbase for some time before. Now, the wait is over as he finally unveils his debut album, and Famous Last Words is delivered with a sense of ceremony which more than matches the anticipation. When your guests include Neil Tennant, Connie Constance and Desire, you know you're pulling out all the stops. The album runs like cinematic narrative guided by CAS' distinctive flows, backed by a sleek synth-pop production style fuelled by collaborators including Kyle Dixon and Johnny Jewel.

Review: Peggy Gou has long since broken out of niche dance music circles out on to the wider world thanks to her pro and well crafted DJ sets and earned ties with plenty of high-end fashion brands. Including this, she does have some fine music making credentials as her hit single '(It Goes Like) Nanana' shows - its an inescapably catchy house cut with an iconic hook that is easy to sing along to. It now arrives, having first come via her own label, on XL which will only make it reach even higher levels of ubiquity. All hail the Gou!

Review: Released on XL Recordings in 2004 and nominated for the year's Mercury Music Prize, Kush Kash was the third studio album from dance music pioneers Basement Jaxx. The album has its space in history having been the winner of the first ever GRAMMY award for Best Dance/Electronic Album. It is packed with great collaborators such as the one and only punk icon Siouxsie Sioux, king of London grime aka Dizzee Rascal on the superb 'Lucky Star', as well as more mellow vocals from Meshell and the lung-busting performance of rock 'n' soul diva Lisa Kekaula from the LA band The Bellrays on 'Good Luck.'

Review: St Albans-three piece Ed McFarlane, Edd Gibson and Jack Savidge made quite the splash with their self-titled Friendly Fires debut album. It arrived 15 years ago and will be remembered for singles such as 'Jump In the Pool' and 'Paris' which very much defined the era. The band was nominated for both a Brit Award and The Mercury Prize and had huge commercial and critical success. This anniversary reissue comes on silver vinyl and is a great reminder of not only this band's quality but also the energetic indie-dance fusions that were proliferating at the time.

Review: To mark the 15th birthday of Friendly Fires' breakthrough song, 'Paris' - a nu-rave-era chunk of sing-along indie dance hedonism - XL has decided to offer up a gold vinyl 12" reissue featuring the two most celebrated remixes of the track. Belgian nu-Balearic and nu-disco outfit Aeroplane's much-loved revision - a big club anthem at the time - sits on side A, offering a near perfect blend of loved-up vocals, jaunty synth stabs, kaleidoscopic chords, disco inspired synth-strings and rolling beats. It remains one of the best nu-disco/synth-pop crossover tracks of the last two decades. Over on the flip, there's a chance to admire Kompakt regular Justus Kohncke's tactile, dreamy and similarly colourful revision - a ten-minute blend of deep synth-pop and deep house that's just as good as Aeroplane's better-known mix.

Review: It's hard to believe Archy Marshall, the 'real' name behind King Krule, is only 28. Not only does his back catalogue smack of wisdom and experience, a goldmine of resonant and reflective twisted punk jazz, dark wave, pop and trip hop, it often feels as though he's always been here, inviting us to share in disillusionment, anger, melancholy and honest reflections on being human. Since arriving into the musical conscious as a very young looking teenager, initially using the pseudonym Zoo Kid, there has always been this startling juxtaposition between fresh faced adolescent we see and the wizened master of observation we hear. Things have waned in terms of intensity, with Space Heavy a fine example - fragile and vulnerable in so many moments - yet the overwhelming power has actually increased.

Review: It comes as a surprise that brothers Tom and Ed Russell - Tessela and Truss, together known as Overmono - are set to release their debut album. That's because their names are synonymous with a certain bleak UK techno sound, following the trend of imagery associated with the likes of St. Etienne, Mt. Kimbie or Real Lies, plus their music and live sets have seen to a wealth of stonking tracks over the years. They're arguably the popularisers of live techno for the next generation, so in 2023, we're floored by the Mandela-effecting notion that they haven't put out an album before. Thankfully, 'Good Lies' is their magnum opus, blending elements from emotive UK soul (the St. Panther feature on 'Walk Thru Water'), future garage (spot the Tirzah samples on 'Is U'), and pirate radio chatter and crud (basically every other track). Nu-school ravers rejoice; this is your defining album.

Review: Overmono have become real techno darlings in the last two years. And rightly so - they have served up a fine run of EPs in that time which now brings us to their debut album Good Lies. They are also an award-winning live act who have brought new energy and invention to techno as well as a next level grasp of sound design. As such the pair are two of the most revered artists in the UK with a hardcore fan base who pack out their every gig. They will find plenty to love here on an adventurous record that features all the hallmarks you would expect of this duo as well as plenty of freshness.

Review: With a run of knockout singles on XL reaching back to 2016, Tom and Ed Russell finally deliver the album we always knew they had in them. Overmono is a project which happily gorges on the best bits of rave culture and spits back out something fresh, universal and yet still headsy enough to keep the underground faithful happy. Good Lies builds on that promise in every way, threading in anthemic vocal hooks and massive emotive brushstrokes without losing that legit bite which has made them so enduringly popular. 'Is U' has an eye on the charts for sure, with plenty of big festival moments bagged along the way for their live shows and everyone else DJ sets. 'Walk Thru Water' hits a more melancholic note with St. Panther on vocals, but it's still masterfully crafted to bring out joyous escapism with gnarly synth flex on top. Something for everyone, then.