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Xenoula Image
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: The debut full-length release for South Africa-born indie electronic artist Romy Xeno was produced by Sam Dust a.k.a. LA Priest.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 8
  2. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Q Magazine
    Dec 20, 2017
    80
    There are traces of Bjork and in the childlike voice exploring its surroundings, Yoko Ono, but the fantastical world Xeno creates is entirely her own. [Feb 2018, p.116]
  2. Nov 27, 2017
    80
    It is rare to find an album so confidently reveling in its eclecticism and eccentricity but with the songs to match. This is such an album. It's an album so full of life, color and personality that it's almost a disappointment when it comes to an end.
  3. Nov 29, 2017
    80
    Xenoula is a funky, fresh and downright fun album that comprises many palette-expanding songs for anyone with pop proclivities.
  4. Nov 27, 2017
    60
    Xenoula simply meanders at times, losing a distinct sense of urgency and focus and washing over the listener like gentle lapping waves leaving little in the way of residue behind. Nevertheless, there are times when Xeno’s music becomes less translucent, harnessing its subtleties to create hauntingly ethereal sounds that do evoke vibrant images of her dual lives.
  5. Nov 27, 2017
    60
    The tracks feel more like musical poems than songs. Poetic lyrics that refer to ogres, unicorns, and ghosts only reinforce this impression. Taken together, the album may challenge even some indie-tuned ears, but at its best, its catchy, composed strangeness is refreshing and compelling.
  6. Uncut
    Dec 22, 2017
    60
    Things become more perverse with the corroded exotica of "Deer Ron" and "Leyline Ogres," though her weirdness is most becoming. [Jan 2018, p.29]
  7. Nov 27, 2017
    60
    At its best this is earthy, experimental pop, but the unusual sounds that pique the interest come too inconsistently.

See all 8 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
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  2. Mixed: 0 out of
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