This week at Slant, I’ve got reviews up for two new releases, both hitting stores today: Built to Spill’s latest, and the state-side drop of the xx’s self-titled debut. I’ve posted some excerpts below, you can follow the links to Slant for the full album reviews.
On the xx by the xx (4.5 stars):
If that sounds trying in print, it’s a pleasure to report what a wholly engrossing pop album the xx have crafted. Indie sorts will emphasize the band’s similarities to Joy Division and Portishead, and they aren’t wrong, but fans of Regina Spektor’s woozy ballads or the coyly sex-pop of early Belle & Sebastian will find as much to enjoy. xx sounds as though it could have been released any time in the past three decades, and would be equally at home on a mixtape with Roxy Music, New Order, and Interpol. Whomever their influences, though, the xx seems refreshingly detached from any recent trends in pop music, indie or mainstream. And whatever its instrumental touchstones, there’s no denying that xx derives its abundant soul from Sims and Crofts’s utterly charming vocal exchanges.
On There is No Enemy by Built to Spill (3.5 stars):
There’s a terrific mid-album scorcher called “Pat” that revisits the fury of the opening track, but for the most part, Built to Spill plays things safe here. Dough Martsch’s languid virtuosity gets plenty of beautiful showcases, those long, hyper-melodic solos that have always been his calling card surfacing on nearly every track. Unlike 2006’s stripped-down You in Reverse, There Is No Enemy gets a glossy production job courtesy of Doug Trumfio, and the slick, glam result is reminiscent of T. Rex. That’s pretty consistent with the band’s trajectory since the mid-’90s, though the return-to-form will not please lo-fi partisans who like Built to Spill better when they sound like that other dinosaur band.
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