The hotly awaited solo album from Jamie XX is here – and I’m pleased to say it is already setting itself up as one of the records to own this summer. This is because of his feel good approach to music, celebrating different cultures, styles and rhythms in a wonderful patchwork of ideas. Although it has a couple of inconsistent tracks, ‘In Colour’ has too many uplifting moments to get preoccupied with the detail. Jamie’s XX band mate Romy Madley Croft guests on the wonderful ‘Loud Places’, with its well-chosen sample of Idris Muhammad’s ‘Could Heaven Ever Be Like This’ while the preceding instrumental, ‘Hold Tight’, drops a really fat bass line to go with its bumpy beat. Young Thug and Popcaan team up on the irresistible ‘I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times), and the opening ‘Gosh’, after spending a couple of minutes drifting into focus, knuckles down to set the intoxicating mood of the album. Like a carnival in an hour, this is an album confirming its producer’s status as one of the most exciting around.
