Masterfully infusing industrial hip-hop, alternative, and electronic elements, VISIONARY is the stirring debut album from Bangkok-based artist XINIX, born Wil Russell Nichols. Driven by themes of transformation and resilience, the album compels in its processing of real-life struggle into personal clarity and strength. Nichols meticulously structures the release to move through chaos and nocturnal intrigue, eventually arriving at a place of confident emotional power amidst an eclectic array of both rhythmic infectiousness and dreamier intrigue.
“THE SKY IS FALLING” opens the album with consuming, emotional intrigue — venturing from a murky atmospheric pull to an enveloping “is this how it is?” vocal refrain, met by industrial-forward electronic tones. The vocals range from the solemn questioning to a soulful, reverbed send-off, its emotion and versatility reminding fondly of Frank Ocean there. This delectably moody opener then moves into “THE NIGHT,” an aptly titled track whose unsettling beginnings — late-night murmurs and a Japanese spoken-word foreboding — shift into a rhythmic, swagger-full captivation. “Baby I can’t love you, I’ve been married to the night,” XINIX’s vocals let out, aspiring to “free you from my mind” in artfully balancing a nocturnal soundscape with “cruising on the highway” hedonistic pursuits, in a quest to progress past heartbreak.
“FALL IN LOVE” continues a sense of personal transformation, from the initial tracks’ realization of change to a more cathartic self-actualization. Like “THE NIGHT,” “FALL IN LOVE” struts a feeling of motion in conveying night drives — “swerving in my Civic” — amidst laments that “I can’t fall in love.” Thumping, suave rhythms and glimmering textures pair with the pitch-fluctuating vocals for a melodic, heartfelt standout. Another success, “STITCHES” arrives next, its haunting bell-like twinkling complementing dynamic vocals, swelling from lethargic accounts of tumult to a hip-hop vocal ferocity, propelling in its “I do not believe in your lies, spreading my wings…” perspective of inner-confidence; the “get some stitches” subdued vocal and intense hip-hop maneuvers seamlessly shift back and forth, making for another fantastic production within a “my heart is a mess” somberness.
An especially mesmerizing soundscape unveils on “POINT OF VIEW,” whose spacey synth pulsations and soaring vocals linger alongside hints of strings for a riveting, climactic push forward. “I try to find time, last night I almost died,” the elongated vocal presence furthers the album’s simultaneous knack for nocturnal mystique and discovery of a “brand new point of view,” where specific experiences lead to an emotional journey and eventual strength and clarity. “I feel no regret, even with torture,” XINIX sings, wonderfully representative of framing experiences as a point for learning and subsequent strength, rather than something to simply wallow in. The lusher “MAROON” also excels, its admissions of being a “mess” set within an illuminated synth-ready mix. Pairing emotionally charged lyricism with an atmospheric industrial, trap, and hip-hop cohesion, VISIONARY is a consumingly memorable full-length from XINIX.
