Ever visited the mall and wondered what the hell that music is that’s playing over by the clothing section or down by the seating area?
That’s the feeling I get when listening to this mall-themed album, Norever Plaza by X y l i t o l D X.
At almost an hour, some of the tracks are on the longer side for what is on offer, and like the mall, there are times you know you have had enough and just want to go home, but there are still a few places you will want to check out before you head home.
On album opener Department Store, we are introduced to the retro-sounding feel of a sprawling mall environment from yesteryear, full of everything from coffee shops to clothing stores and throwaway souvenir items stalls to furniture stores. I just feel that the track would benefit from a shorter duration, as the later track Food Court explores much of the same ground, albeit with vocals on top.
The second track Intimates is the highlight of the whole album for me; the flow of the track is striking with its saxophone lead over a strong backing instrumental. There is so much to like, and a runtime of ten minutes does not hurt, as the composition is stronger than some of the other tracks on here. Think of an instrumental Careless Whisper, and you are halfway to knowing what to expect; the ambient fade at the end is great too.
The next track, Food Court, wasn't really for me; the vocal performance was a little loud in my opinion, and the repetition of the lyric and reuse of ideas from the opening track failed to hold my attention, and I was still thinking of the previous track and its vibe.
I feel that a few of the tracks would benefit from a shorter duration, and maybe if there were a few more themes to explore, my overall feeling would be better.
The mall announcements between tracks are a nice inclusion and give the album a cohesive feel.
Where the album fares better beyond the highlight of Intimates is on the fourth track and also the penultimate piece. Incense & Gems and BOGO are better tracks than some of the earlier examples on offer here, with the former having a slow feel and cool rhythm section accompanied by a striking keyboard melody arpeggiator effect, the key notes in the latter half feeling slightly ominous.
On Buy One, Get One, the longest track here, at almost 14 minutes, X y l i t o l D X manages to pull it off with a lot of confidence; it's a warm-feeling sound with a hopeful, nostalgic melody that has a lot of heart. It only gets better on repeat listens, and here the vocal performance is much better and suits the piece really well.
Finally, we have Imports, a short track with a vocal performance that is melodic but not as strong as the previous few tracks. I can't quite make out what is being sung, it doesn't sound English, so I am guessing by the title that this is from another part of the mall that we only get to hear, depending on which escalator we arrived on.