XXOt – Ажур (Album – Insane Records)
Genre/Influences: Industrial, Electro, Electro-Pop, Experimental.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: XXOT is a new Russian name featuring members of Sleetgrout and Fetish’ist. This debut album features eight songs.
Content: It’s not an easy thing defining the sound of this band. They call it ‘Sensual-Industrial’, which is true for the half-like whispering female vocals. The Industrial side emerges from the bombast of the slow rhythms joined by guitar playing although some passages are clearly moving into Pop and even Electro-Rock.
+ + + : XXOt clearly deals with a very own sound and that’s an approach I always appreciate. Together with hot production of the vocals, it clearly reveals an interesting potential. But vocals aren’t nothing without a carrying sound. I like the bombast and some of the Electronic arrangements like the ominous tune emerging at “Дядя Миша”. Another attention grabber is “Там где никто” for the slow progression leading to a climax.
– – – : The Russian language injects a very specific- although hardly accessible aspect to the work.Some parts are a bit too into Electro-Rock to my taste.
Conclusion: XXOt deals with creative ideas, which now have to be elaborated and improved.
Best songs: “Дядя Миша”, “Там где никто”.
Rate: 6½.
Artist: www.facebook.com/XXot8
Label: www.insane-records.com / www.facebook.com/InsaneRecordsEU
About XXOt
XXOt is a Russian project formed by members of the dark electro acts Sleetgrout and Fetish’ist. Side-Line covered Sleetgrout in 2015 when the act released the 5-track EP ‘Farewell, Nit!’ as a free download.
The debut album “Ажур” was issued by Insane Records, which dates the release to 15 December 2020; Discogs lists the CD as a limited numbered edition of that same year, so the record was already out when this review appeared in September 2021. A track from the album also featured on the German magazine sampler “Sonic Seducer Cold Hands Seduction – Vol. 227” in 2021.
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