X Lovers' 'virgin' Is an Avalanche of Emotional Depth
If we hadn’t made it quite clear, the Ones to Watch team are pretty huge fans of electronic-pop dream team X Lovers. So, you can only imagine the level of freaking out we all did when their debut EP virgin finally arrived.
London Jackson and Jacob Ames, two best friends with a vision of becoming the greatest artists in the world, have been etching their emotions and tribulations into their music since the tender age of 10. As they’ve matured into fully-fletched musicians, the only thing that has changed - aside from their gradual shift in genres from punk to an elastic one-of-a-kind take on pop - is the way they’ve mastered eliciting empathy and emotional responses from their listeners.
READ: X Lovers Is a Shared Childhood Dream for World Domination
London’s vulnerability in his songwriting alongside the passion in his vocals mesh too well with Jacob’s pristine production, creating an almost picturesque experience. I dare you to listen to this album and try to feel like you’re not in a late ‘90’s coming-of-age movie.
virgin begins with the steadily paced but charming “King of Capulet,” which London wrote after making the acquaintance of a woman at a party with a “godly aura.” “Cut My Lip” leaves Shakespeare at home and introduces a straightforward but warm an acoustic guitar to the starkly contrasting feeling of unrequited love.
The eight-track EP is one monumental ball of sentimentality. There’s at least one song on the project for everyone. If you’re feeling emotionally disheveled, “Life” carries you through the restlessness. Missing mom? Give “Sweatshirt” a listen. Maybe you’re at the end of a relationship and you’re adopting a new taste for anti-love songs? “Never F***ing Fall in Love Again” delivers. Whatever state you find yourself in, X Lovers has dispatched a wellspring of emotions for listeners to bask in.
On the creation of their debut EP, London shared,
"Around the time we started working on our first EP, virgin, Jake and I kept having conversations and I'd be like 'yo I'm a virgin to that' to first time things. And everything in our life feels new right now, whether that's the highs of our fan base growing rapidly out of nowhere after doing this together for 10 years or my dad being diagnosed with a terminal illness which was on the total opposite end of the worst I've ever felt. This EP is bringing you into these emotions of euphoria and total despair I was feeling while making it."
If you have yet to listen to virgin, wait no longer and stream the EP below:
