I See You

got repetitive after a while, liked it though

Beige

Nearly unlistenable cliched low effort garbage. Sleepier than a teenage boy at 9 in the morning.

Good album, but not 1001 albums material.

I quite liked the music. I doubt whether it is good enough to make the album one of the so-called 1001 best. But that also applies to many other albums on the list. Following a tip-off, I rummaged through the known editions of the 1001 albums and didn't find this album. Strange. Well, it's not one of my top favorites anyway, but maybe I'll listen to it again. 3/5

That hushed, breathy singing style — half-whisper, half-pant — was fresh on the debut, but by the third album it feels corny and restrained.
And while Jamie xx’s fingerprints are more visible, most tracks feel more like exercises in clever production than songs with real bite or urgency.

Favorite songs: I Dare You, Lips, On Hold, Replica, Say Something Loving

Least favorite songs: Test Me

3/5

not for me. It's just style over substance, but the style is predictable and borrowed. so the lack of substance has nothing to hid behind.

I imagine them writing songs struggling to find a rhyme for "me," so they just end up rhyming it "me," saying the mood will carry the song, and calling it a day.

Das Album zeigt eine Band, die bereit ist, neue Wege zu erkunden, ohne ihre Wurzeln zu vergessen. Der experimentellere Sound im Vergleich zu den minimalistischen Alben davor ist erfrischend, doch nicht immer vollständig überzeugend. Solide Lounge Musik zum berieseln an Strand- oder Poolbar.

Tracks wie "On Hold" stechen durch ihre Innovation und Eingängigkeit hervor – vor allem durch das inspirierende Hall & Oates-Sample. Doch andere Stücke wirken mitunter etwas unfertig oder zu zaghaft, um wirklich im Ohr zu bleiben.

I saw this pop up this morning and my first thought was "why the hell are there two albums from The xx on here?" I don't get why the first one was on this list, it was totally unremarkable. Surely, there wasn't a need for this one too? There can't be a third? We'll see....
This album shows basically no growth at all from their first album 8 years prior. It's still just as mundane and uncreative and sounds like one 45 minute long song. This is enough of The xx for me. 1.5/5 generously rounding up to a 2.

The Good: Who doesn’t like a little x-rating?
The Bad: It doesn’t refer to that kind of x-rating…
The Ugly: Me all ready…

WTF?

Do we get a medal when we are done?
My respect for those who’ve managed to finish this list grows on a daily basis, as I am starting to lose interest on a daily basis when I realize that I am still not at the 1/3rd mark.
Yet, then again, this does give great testimony that music is really important to us, as it controls our mood, our outlook on the day, and our general impulses to shout at a computer screen when another shit album is unveiled…

I had heard their most popular tune pass on the radio… this was, obviously, a while ago, as I haven’t really been listening to the radio in years; thanks to bluetooth connection, and/or android auto in the cars.

No wonder there is a generation of youths walking around all gloom and doom, not seeing that there is a future out there, or wondering if they will ever get lucky?
The xx see them… so they say.

I wonder if they will see this 1* rating?

A surprising album to see included on this list. I only knew 3 of their songs beforehand, which all came from their debut. So why this album was chosen...? 🤔

It was alright. I liked the beats but not the singing/talking

Made pleasant background music, but very bland and forgettable

3 ⭐️

There is definitely a line where modern music just become unenjoyable, and while I try to remain enlightened and open minded, these kinds of mid millennial bats over mumbly lyrics just does not resonate with me (also looking at you LCD Soundsystem)

I like the XX very much but this wasn’t really an album that fits the list. It was nice on a sunny but chilly day, but compared to a lot of albums on here, it doesn’t reach that level. Still good

This one’s cool, but I don’t like it as much as their first one.

I was excited to listen to this because I liked the first album so much. But this was ... boring? It was fine, I guess, but nothing I'm clamoring to listen to again.

It's been over a hundred albums since I heard The xx's debut. In real-time since that debut for the group, second guitarist and keyboardist Brian Quareshi left the group, they put out a second album Coexist, they contributed a song to the film soundtrack for The Great Gatsby, first guitarist and vocalist Romy Madley Croft took a songwriting course, and producer Jamie xx put out a solo album In Colours. Those last two points are important for developing their third album I See You, as they looked to open and expand their sound. Boy, they delivered that notion in spades.

I See You is the natural evolution of The xx's sound to incorporate more alternative dance, and I am here for it. Due in part to Jamie's solo work, the production quality has significantly expanded and there are more samples they're able to incorporate such as the use of Hall & Oates's vocals on the chorus of "On Hold" or the homage to Sade's "The Sweetest Taboo" on "Say Something Loving". Jamie's production becomes the big noticeable factor in this album where he and co-producer Rodaidh McDonald aimed for a more aggressive sound. From the get-go with "Dangerous", there are ominous shrill blasts of synth horns opening a roiling bass groove against the scratchy percussion, leading into the guitars and spurts of jagged synth on "Lips", the use of negative space as musical punctuation on the hook of "A Violent Noise", as well as the elegant strings against the guitars that crescendo on "Brave for You". There's the overall feeling of being at a late-night after-party where the vibes are going but the subtle details seep in and enrich the moment.

While the production has been vamped up, the core of The xx's sound is still there with Romy's liquid but defined guitar lines and Oliver's prominent bass, and their vocal chemistry and interplay have greatly improved over the years. I still consider Romy an overall better singer, but Oliver has become more expressive, particularly on songs like "Replica" where he captures the balance of tension and yearning.

That takes us to the lyrical content, where in tandem with the expanded sound, I See You is The xx's party record. It's the desire to venture out into the night and find some means of escape, a notion that is populist and well-framed enough to acknowledge the members' own lingering weaknesses and insecurities as they go out to try anything. Romy's hesitant bravery and desperation alongside Oliver's own carefully contained fears and apathy work wonderfully across the board. It's why they would seek the danger in each other on the opening track "Dangerous", why they'd second guess every step in their connection on "Say Something Loving", and why they would share in the disenchantment on "A Violent Noise". It all culminates in the climax of "On Hold", where the relationship falters as Romy moves on after being held at a distance, and Oliver is confused as he is late to realize what they could've had. That's where "I Dare You" and "Test Me" work effectively as closers in capturing the essence of the album title - these two clearly see each other and can almost feel each other's desire, it's just a matter of taking the dare, the risk to genuinely embrace even if there's a chance that it all falls apart.

In fact, "Test Me" draws an even deeper parallel for The xx as a band and its members, with the choices in greater experimentation that could risk who they were, to venture into more dangerous territory and more violent noises. I get the notion of "dangerous" for this record might sound eye-rolling for some people, but this is an album about modern relationships for those introverted, a notion that I can relate to as I am trying to push myself out in the world and find that special someone out of the fear of loneliness.

In a way, I've found a lot of pathos with I See You as a record. I'll be taking the songs and lessons from this album to heart.

Eh?

Recognized a few songs. Not bad - some decent creativeness and is a nice album to work to.

I like The XX. This album is also good.