REVIEW: Romy – Mid Air

Romy, Oliver and Jamie – or The xx if you aren’t pretending to be on first name terms with the band like me – have felt like solid staples in my life since their landmark debut album 14 years ago. We’ve had three albums from the band itself, Jamie xx has released countless collaborative records and a fantastic debut solo album In Colour, while Oliver Sim released his also brilliant record Hideous Bastard last year. The fact it’s taken this long to finally hear a solo record from Romy is a real surprise, rumblings of this album have been going on even before 2017’s I See You. Mid Air is finally here though and a culmination of over a decade has paid off with this infectious debut album.

Much like trying to review those other solo The xx records I mentioned before, comparisons to the band themselves are still here, but Mid Air truly feels like it’s own sound and so distinctively ‘Romy’. It’s one of the best things about the whole album that you can hear her personality, both the joyous and quieter parts of it shining on every song here. It’s not a change to the entrancing Romy we’ve heard on songs like ‘Angels’ and ‘VCR’, more like she’s truly found herself in the music; full of life and energy but effortlessly so.

It took me a few goes through the whole album for the easiness of everything to fall into place, but once it does Mid Air shines. This is a danceable and often bass driven album, but it’s the more delicate and subtler moments that make it feel poignant.

From the off openers ‘Love Her’ and ‘Weightless’ talk of that feeling of being unashamed to be in love and it carries through to just about every track here. Some fans of the band may be looking for something a little deeper lyrically, songs like ‘Strong’ and closer ‘She’s On My Mind’ aren’t ‘saying’ a whole lot but I think that misses the point of an album so focused on creating a mood for the listener.

There’s twinges of emotion on standouts like ‘Twice’ or ‘Did I’, but there’s always a driving force of finding and sharing the happiness that Romy has always craved. A comparison to Robyn in the ‘love on the dance floor’ genre would certainly make sense, but for me this album is much more focused on finding the joy of life, never more so than on the peak moment of the record ‘Enjoy Your Life’.

The way the album builds and builds to this explosion of unabashed joy truly takes what was a good single track and elevates it so much, bringing it to life completely. For me the second half of Mid Air is where Romy truly shines as a performer and a songwriter, as well as the mixed throughline between songs really working. The first half has some great tracks, ‘The Sea’ is an enjoyable Ibiza chillout moment, but it’s only once we hit ‘Strong’ that for me the record truly finds its pace and driving force.

It’s impressive that such a collaborative album feels so distinctly Romy from start to end. When working with people like Stuart Price, Fred Again.. and Jamie xx this album could quite easily have ended up feeling like Romy singing across someone else’s dance records, especially as her signature vocal is so intrinsic to the sound of The xx. 

Instead Mid Air is an album that only Romy could have created, an album for the dance floor that’s as joyous to hear as I imagine it was to make.

Words by Sam Atkins