Friday, April 15, 2011

Jamie Woon: Mirrorwriting - review

(Polydor)

On his emergence last year, Jamie Woon seemed to make a virtue of the same minimalist aesthetic that catapulted the xx to stardom in 2010. A Burial remix of Night Air only added to his credentials, giving rise to the notion that Woon ? a Brit School alumnus ? was of dubstep origin. On Mirrorwriting these notions are swiftly dispatched. This is pop, and as pop, Mirrorwriting showcases a slick but uninventive pastiche of rhythm and soul. Lady Luck and Middle revive pop R&B stylings perfected by Justin Timberlake a decade ago, while Spirals and Gravity employ acoustic guitar to mawkish effect. Electronic textures are used unsparingly, with strings and synths swelling behind Woon's velvety, stage-school vocal. The results might have been more remarkable if Woon could still muster some of that early mystique.

Rating: 2/5


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