ARCA: XEN REVIEW BUNDLE

SCORE: 90/100

From feeling like you're being chased to feeling like you're being nurtured - 'Xen' truly is the best of both worlds.

Atmospheric and absurdly serene through glitches and synths, 'Xen' is a deeply unique album that takes some time to warm up; it isn't as ambitious as expected from a producer like Arca, but it shows a softer and more cinematic sound to electronic music that uses soft soundscapes to build off of one another. The songs range from soft & slow to wonky and full of glitches with harder edges, a mix in sounds and a wonderfully diverse sound that makes this album wildly unique and wholeheartedly unexpected with every flip and turn.

It manages to be soft one minute and chaotic the next - showcasing both sides of the coin while making an album that is both stressful and serene all in one go; it's a hard one to label and an even harder one to pinpoint words for, but it does something you simply won't find done by any other producers. With this first LP alone Arca showcases a divine talent and ear for unique production - having a similarly wonky sound palate to artists like Björk or SOPHIE to make an album that leaves a huge mark.

'Xen' is almost mysterious. The songs don't overstay their welcome and the switching in styles and soundscapes makes the album feel like it is backed by a story of some sort - like each song is trying to reach out and tell you something with every synth and glitch in the smooth sounds of the surface of the album. It's wonderfully distorted and versatile, with the songs coming together into an album that shouldn't work - and yet the album runs delightfully and works to its absolute best capacity.

The album manages to be almost Aphex Twin-esque, with a palate of soundscapes that will probably be the closest thing to his intelligent way of production that isn't from him in some capacity. You can hear the influence of other artists with Arca's work - but even more importantly, you can hear her influence on other artists who have evolved after her works.

It's an album that will either captivate you or repulse you - with a sound that feels so "out there" while having such a huge amount of cohesiveness embedded within each seam of the tracks, with each track coming together into something different and something emotional; feeling like a captured portrait of Arca as a whole. With 'Failed' being a deeply personal track that tells a story and uses synth notes to make the emotions from their life come out into song; all without the usage of lyrics or vocals.

Marvelous as it is; what makes this album that much more impressive is the lack of vocals at all - which took me some time to get used to. The album is made up of different electronic instrumental elements alongside some occasional warped & glitched vocal chops that add more to the album and the texture it presents. It isn't an album that needs words - the melodies do all of the talking.

????? EDITION:

SCORE: 91/100

The bonus tracks on this reissue manage to be even more mysterious and glitchy than what you'll find on the standard version of the LP - with incredible production and sounds that shock at every chance they get, the "?????" reissue of 'Xen' is more than worth your time if you enjoyed the original album and the tracks within it.

It's a gorgeous, glistening mess, with sounds that rumble and fade constantly and sound palates that just don't let up, this reissue is well worthwhile for any fans of the iconic production done by Arca - its style shines through masterfully here, and it's a wonderful addition to an album that is already great on its own.

Both of the additional tracks feel like they could've been right at home on the original cut of the album - but leaving them out made the original album more accessible and palatable due to the clean length of the project (under 40 minutes always makes a project more accessible since a shorter runtime works wonders for some people, me included). Arca further showcased their producorial talents with the mysterious and delightful "?????" tracks A&B.