XYLØ - Unamerican Beauty (Album)
Instagram advertising is a beautiful thing; it recently had me infatuated with the angelic sounds of LA songstress XYLØ by way of her debut album titled “Unamerican Beauty.” It instantly had me thirsting for the various production & energetic tone that XYLØ reflects in multiple sequences of the project. I began learning a bit about her while simultaneously listening to the album, and I see she has a fresh sense of nostalgia & sass about her. I love the aggressive style of her creativity regarding wardrobe and sounds. It has a bit of wonderment & pop-esque rhythms that are heard in this 12-track album that will quickly satisfy your listening experience in multiple playthroughs.
The album begins with the same title of the project, which was the instant factor that made me a fan. She starts with a mysterious essence in her vocals that flourishes nicely with the intensity of her wordplays that will have you falling head over heels for her. The corrupt minds of society will bleed through the speakers once this ballad arises; it’s best to live in the moment of the track than to be changed into a mindless drone. Cover her in roses while your fingers go through her hair, tell her that she’s a star, and that’s she living the American fucking dream. It’s a wicked start and one that had me hooked to continue onward to the album. Her follow-up records “Red Hot Winter,” “Sugar-Free Rush,” “aliens,” & more are some of the most potent ballads that I’ve come across during my first play-through. Channeling her voice from her intro record, you can sense her psyche on fire, fueling the rage that she has and unlocking the subsequent emotional plunder for her. She speaks so freely in her tracks that you can’t help to be so deep in the translation of her words, while the unique settings of her vocals create a sensational space. Other tracks that stand out to me in the album have to be “family politics,” “sweetness,” & “home video,” which are some of her more heartfelt jams. They reflect her growth from seeing things on one side as an adolescent to now being more mature. She’s a 90’s baby, and she’s seen some highs & lows in her time, sometimes the lows outweighing the joys in her life. Now she’s seeing highs in a different feeling where her emotions breakthrough records throughout the album to get a little more personable with XYLØ. It’s an astonishing album and possibly one of my new favorite pieces of art this year. It’s a beautiful nightmare of Lana Del Rey’s “Born To Die” with a bit more substance on XYLØ’s luxury taste. It’s majestically sung while speaking on an extraterrestrial plain to elevate your soul.
I’m glad this album came across my way; I’m genuinely in love with it, and I hope her upcoming tour expands to Texas cause I would love to see some of the tracks in a live setting. Until more is announced, we recommend you check out her album here while sharing it on all social media platforms.