I See You is the third studio album by Englishindie pop bandthe xx. It was released on 13 January 2017 by theYoung Turks record label. It was the band's first album in more than four years, following 2012'sCoexist.
The xx began recordingI See You in 2014 at Marfa Recording Co. inMarfa, Texas, and were assisted by producerRodaidh McDonald. According to the band, they had a more progressive, wide-ranging musical concept in mind, compared to their previous two albums.Jamie xx, the band's multi-instrumentalist and producer, said the album's sound and aesthetic were influenced by his 2015club-influenced solo recording,In Colour.
I See You was released to widespread critical acclaim, with many reviewers finding its music less insular than the xx's previous recordings. It became the band's second number-one album in the United Kingdom and an international top-tenchart success. Foursingles were released to promote the album, beginning with "On Hold", while the xx embarked on the EuropeanI See You Tour and subsequent concerts in the Americas.
The xx announced in May 2014 that they were working on their third studio album with producerRodaidh McDonald at Marfa Recording Co., a recording studio inMarfa, Texas.[3] According toMixmag journalist Stephen Worthy, a "watershed" moment had occurred immediately before recording commenced when during a series of New York concerts, the trio—Romy Madley Croft,Oliver Sim, andJamie Smith—"barely made eye contact with their audience. It was their way of saying goodbye to the old xx". While working onI See You, Croft enrolled in a songwriting course in California, Sim modelled forChristian Dior SE, and Smith released a solo album, 2015'sIn Colour.[4]
Smith, the xx's producer and multi-instrumentalist, stated thatIn Colour "definitely informed what we're doing" forI See You, while the band said the record would have a "completely different concept" from their first two albums.[5] They also said the album would sound "more outward-looking, open and expansive".[6]I See You was described by AnyDecentMusic? as an album ofindie rock anddream pop music,[7] while Matt Hobbs fromGod is in the TV said the xx expanded on the dance portion of their usual fusion of indie andalternative dance sounds.[8] According toPitchfork's November 2016 update on the album,I See You was ultimately recorded between March 2014 and August 2016 at studios in Marfa,New York City,Los Angeles,London, andReykjavík.[9]
The album's lead single, "On Hold", was released on 10 November 2016, premiering on the xx'sYouTube account ahead of the album's release date being announced.[10] On 19 November, the band performed as themusical guest on the American sketch comedy showSaturday Night Live.[11] "Say Something Loving" was released as the second single on 1 January 2017.[12]
I See You was released on 13 January 2017 byYoung Turks.[9] In its first week, it sold 26,513 copies in the United Kingdom and debuted at number one on theBritish albums chart, becoming the xx's second album to top the chart, afterCoexist did in 2012.[13] In the United States,I See You debuted at number two on theBillboard 200 and recorded 46,000album-equivalent units; 36,000 of these were traditional album sales.[14] In Japan, it entered theOricon Albums Chart at number 34 and sold 2,073 copies in its first week there.[15]
I See You was met with widespread critical acclaim. AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received anaverage score of 85, based on 35 reviews.[18] According toKitty Empire, it was hailed by critics as the xx's "least insular album thus far".[29]
Writing forThe Guardian,Alexis Petridis said the record "pulls off the feat of managing to sound both exactly like the xx and unlike anything they have done before". He believed the band's willingness to explore musical influences from Smith'sIn Colour album gave the tracks a "richer and fuller" quality than on their previous records.[22]I See You was called "the most eclectic, multidimensional, and ambitious album of The xx’s young career" by Philip Cosores fromThe A.V. Club,[20] whileEntertainment Weekly's Nolan Feeney deemed it "the boldest work yet from a band famous for subtlety".[21] In the opinion ofUncut reviewer Sam Richards, the band "expanded their horizons without sacrificing any of the emotional intimacy that makes them one of the most compelling acts around".[30]Q critic Victoria Segal noted its shared lyrical themes withCoexist and echoes of the "club culture" fromIn Colour, while concluding that musically, the band were "extending past glories rather than copying them".[26] "Sim's and Madley Croft's vocal melodies are sturdier and more shapely than in the past", Mikael Wood wrote in theLos Angeles Times, surmising it to be "a product perhaps of the time Madley Croft spent in L.A. between xx albums working on potential songs for pop stars."[31]
Some critics were less enthusiastic. InVice,Robert Christgau observed artistic growth and accessibility in songs such as "On Hold", "Say Something Loving", and "Brave for You"; but said, "however impressive their originality and skill, the details always end up getting away" throughout the album's "indistinct murmurs ... because in the end the band's shared aesthetic is so contained."[28]Will Hodgkinson was more critical inThe Times, writing that the album failed to "hit the highs of their previous work" while accusing the group of posturing, making note of Croft's "breathy emoting" on "Brave for You".[32]
^週間 CDアルバムランキング [Weekly CD Album Ranking] (in Japanese).Oricon. 23 January 2017. Archived fromthe original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved23 January 2017.
^"Czech Albums – Top 100".ČNS IFPI.Note: On the chart page, select03.Týden 2017 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
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