XL Vinyl & CDs

Review: In early 2024, contemporary jazz cats BADBADNOTGOOD reported that they returned to the studio energised by recent international shows and collaborations with artists like Daniel Caesar, Charlotte Day Wilson and Baby Rose. The Canadian trio of Al Sow, Chester Hansen and Leland Whitty then joined with friends including Felix Fox-Pappas, Kaelin Murphy and Tyler Lott for an intensive recording week at Los Angeles' Valentine Studios. The result was the Mid Spiral series which explores distinct themes of Chaos, Order and Growth. Released initially in three digital parts, this genre-blending project now arrives on CD via XL and is another superb listen that explores how their roots in instrumental jazz fuse with hip-hop, neo-soul and funk.

Review: Since turning his hand to music production midway through the last decade, XL Recordings owner Richard Russell has delivered a couple of predictably hard to pigeonhole, guest-packed albums as Everything is Recorded. Russell, of course, has an admirably bulging contacts book and as deep a knowledge of British music - be it hip-hop, grime, rave, jazz, experimental electronica or otherwise - as anyone. The depth of both is naturally evident on third album Temporary, with Russell and a dizzying list of guests delivering atmospheric, sample-rich fusions of head-nodding, hip-hop leaning grooves, field recordings-heavy sample collages, woozy dream pop, sub-heavy nods to UK bass, slow-motion neo-folk, blunted trip-hop, contemporary UK jazz, hazy Americana and much more besides. That it works as a coherent and sonically adventurous album is testament to Russell's increasing skill as a producer and standalone musical artist.

Review: It's been a long time coming, but there's a genuine buzz about Peggy Gou's long-anticipated debut album, I Hear You. It delivers an accessible, entertaining and well-executed journey in which Gou's rarely discussed pop instincts are balanced out by music that nods to current club trends and nostalgia for the 1990s and earlier acid house era. So while opener 'Your Art' is weird, trippy, psychedelic and chugging and '1=1=11' is a Balearic neo-trance workout of the sort Salt Tank used to knock out in their sleep, 'Back To One' sounds like a lost '90s NYC dance-pop anthem, '(It Goes Like) Nananana' is an insanely infectious and piano-heavy slab of rave nostalgia, and 'I Believe In Love Again' (with Lenny Kravitz) sounds like a long-lost, hip-hop tempo Red Zone remix by David Morales.

Review: Cutouts continues the three strong supergroup's exploration of diverse sonic landscapes, the new ten-track project reaffirming The Smile's commitment to pushing musical boundaries. The trioicomprised of Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood alongside drummer Tom Skinnericrafted Cutouts in Oxford and Abbey Road Studios, with production by Sam Petts-Davies. Preceded by the singles 'Foreign Spies' and 'Zero Sum,' the album promises a blend of styles, from jazz and Krautrock to progressive rock, all while maintaining a raw, experimental edge distinct from their work with Radiohead. The Smile have already captivated audiences with these tracks during their recent UK and European tours and as with their previous releases, Cutouts merges complex musical influences into a cohesive and intriguing sonic experience.