The Student Playlist

Showcasing the Best New Music, Curating the Classics

Tag XL

CLASSIC ’10s: Adele – ’21’

A commercial juggernaut, Adele’s heartbreak epic ’21’ was seismic enough to instigate a sea change in the music industry.

REVIEW: Låpsley – ‘Through Water’ (Her Own Recordings / XL)

Recorded after years of personal struggle, Holly Lapsley Fletcher’s long-awaited second album ‘Through Water’ is therapeutic and cathartic.

REVIEW: Thom Yorke – ‘ANIMA’ (Unsustainabubble / XL)

While it’s concerned with well-trodden dystopian themes, ‘ANIMA’ is the first time Thom Yorke has properly expressed his identity outside of the context of Radiohead.

CULT ’00s: The Horrors – ‘Primary Colours’

Released in 2009 to a stunned reaction from fans and critics alike, ‘Primary Colours’ transformed The Horrors from a hipster punchline to a highly respected outfit.

REVIEW: Thom Yorke – ‘Suspiria’ (XL / Unsustainabubble)

At its best, ‘Suspiria’ is the most fractured and unsettled work that Thom Yorke has ever produced.

REVIEW: Jungle – ‘For Ever’ (XL)

It took Jungle a long four years to make, but ‘For Ever’ is little more than a holding pattern after the success of their debut.

REVIEW: Jack White – ‘Boarding House Reach’ (Third Man / XL)

Jack White’s third solo album ‘Boarding House Reach’ is easily his most bizarre and adventurous effort yet, but sounds critically underdeveloped and muddled in many places.

REVIEW: Shamir – ‘Revelations’ (Father/Daughter Records)

‘Revelations” tumultuous beginnings represent a triumph of sorts for Shamir, with its renewed lo-fi noise challenging the listeners to enter the uncomfortable world that Shamir inhabits. However, that doesn’t excuse poor songwriting and delivery to which it is painful to listen.

REVIEW: King Krule – ‘The OOZ’ (XL Recordings)

Archy Marshall’s second King Krule album ‘The OOZ’ is an ambitious sprawl of jazz, hip-hop, scratchy acoustic balladry and beat poetry.

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