The phrase ‘the song of the summer’, year on year gets thrown about without any real depth to substantiate such an accolade. But, XO’s latest offering ‘The Light’ from the soon-to-be released ‘The Ethereal Experience EP’ may just be worthy of the crown. Gliding synths and distant vocals transports the listener to sunset beaches in the heart of Krabi Province. XO has genteelly crafted three notions that usually would not be seen in a track for the sun, escapism, slow-pace and summer. The Lights provides an element of escapism; the simplistic line ‘I guess I was happy’ resonates and breathes understated emotion into the song. Whilst the song may not be lyrically rich, it isn’t needed, the layers of sounds built up throughout portrays a varying spectrum of emotion that would rival any lyricist past or present.
It is always easy to lose yourself in a song and The Light is no exception, but there is intelligent self-awareness within the track that sets it apart from any other contender for the title. Much like the fear of returning to the working world after a heavy weekend off, you are cruelly dragged back into reality at the end of the song with the rude awakening of the alarm clock and your momentary bliss is over. Escapism is only ever temporary and XO plays on this concept, but even for three and a half minutes it’s sometimes needed to break away from actuality; and what better way is there than listening to The Light? ‘The Ethereal Experience EP’ will be available to download on iTunes on July 20th.
Written by - John Jarvis
Listen / [SOUNDCLOUD]
It is always easy to lose yourself in a song and The Light is no exception, but there is intelligent self-awareness within the track that sets it apart from any other contender for the title. Much like the fear of returning to the working world after a heavy weekend off, you are cruelly dragged back into reality at the end of the song with the rude awakening of the alarm clock and your momentary bliss is over. Escapism is only ever temporary and XO plays on this concept, but even for three and a half minutes it’s sometimes needed to break away from actuality; and what better way is there than listening to The Light? ‘The Ethereal Experience EP’ will be available to download on iTunes on July 20th.
Written by - John Jarvis
Listen / [SOUNDCLOUD]