XAM Duo II

Matthew BennとChristopher DuffinによるUKヨークシャーのデュオXAM Duoの6年ぶりの2ndアルバム。Hookwormsの残骸から結成され、今年初めにデビュー・アルバムをリリースしたバンド、Holodrumのメンバーでもあります。サックス、テープ・コード、ローズ・ピアノ、シンセサイザー、そして正確かつ意図的なシーケンスとパンチの効いたシンセの音色を駆使しており、デジタルのアプローチでは、冷たく加工されたように感じられるかもしれませんが、それは逆で、暖かく自然なものになっています。

XAM Duos 2016 debut was a mostly analog effort containing several lengthy, drone-heavy pieces that incorporated masses of glimmering synths as well as percolating rhythms, fusing ideas inspired by Terry Riley, Cluster, Tangerine Dream, and other cosmic icons. After collaborating with Virginia Wing on 2017s Tomorrows Gift, which started with a 20-minute zone-out before launching into echo-heavy, dreamlike psychedelic pop songs, XAM Duo wrote new material that they performed during gigs with artists like Stereolab, Michael Rother, and Jessy Lanza. XAM Duo II is far more pop-influenced than their self-titled debut, embracing digital technology for a more streamlined production style, as well as focusing on driving rhythms and brighter melodies. Opener "Blue Comet" has a clean, gliding beat, leaving plenty of space for non-repetitive, exploratory melodies and lush, lightly echoing textures, particularly vibraphones. The shortest piece, "Kaisha," is playful and video game-like, with chirpy MIDI melodies surrounded by fluttering saxophones, which swing like vines suspended from tree branches in a rainforest. Other tracks are less excited but still playful, with "The Middle Way" being a particularly sweet piece of ear candy. "Lifeguard at Mohang Beach" opens with the rush of digital waves, and synth textures faintly ripple on the shore, fading until all thats left is saxophones drifting in the breeze. "Cold Stones" is the albums final and most expansive track, at first centering gentle, hypnotic saxophones and trickling synths around a relaxed, steady kick drum. Once the bassline hits, it elevates into astral slow-disco paradise. It doesnt take long for the beat to drop out, but the listener is already floating freely in an enraptured state, so the absence of rhythmic constraint prolongs the blissful feeling. At 26 minutes, XAM Duo II lasts a few minutes longer than the lengthiest track on the pairs debut, yet it still manages to have sprawling moments within a much shorter time frame. ~ Paul Simpson