City Vibes

It’s not easy to categorize those four from XBloome. This is also evident on their new EP ‘City Vibes’, on which pathos and disco go hand in hand.

The five tracks take their influence from various directions.

One can’t help but being reminded of Madonna’s ‘Confessions On A Dance Floor’ when listening to ‘Summer Shit’. Dancing to those whipping beats on a beach in Ibiza? Who wouldn’t love that?

‚Stalker Boy‘, on the other hand opens a door to a different world. Here’s a story of unrequited love, told and backed by darkly sweet sounds. Recitative and emotional vocals alternate, razor-sharp synthesizers meet cool-sounding drums and velvety bass lines. Sounds paradox? Well, the band loves contradictions!

But the Austrian electronic quartet also likes melancholy and proves the fact with ‚It’s Getting Cold‘, which is inspired by the subtle but ever present guitar sound reminiscent of Pink Floyd. The smooth sounds and the cool voice of singer Betti Stewart enfold the listener in a metaphoric snow cloud.

The song ‚Courage‘ offers an interesting contrast between flowing down beats and positive message, which is also emphasized by cleverly used samples.

Finally, the title track ‚City Vibes‘ conveys the very pulse of the city! The strong bass line and the synth effects, the samples, the whipping drums and the airy vocals entice the listener to a foray through the street canyons.

All of those tracks together are a heady mixture of light and dark, up and down, hot and cold – but all of them unmistakably XBloome!