Artist: Junkie XL
Title: Today
Label: Ultra Records
By: Colin C. | 5 April 2006
Tracklist:

1. Youthful
2. Mushroom
3. Such A Tease
4. Today
5. Drift Away
6. I Have Got A Xerox To Copy
7. Even In This Moment
8. Yesterdays
9. Honey
10. We Become One

Junkie XL "Today"

Tom Holkenborg has had quite a journey since his debut Junkie XL album as was unleashed onto an unsuspecting audience back in 1997. 'Saturday Teenage Kick' was right on time with the big-beat wave starting to crest: A tour-de-force of loud guitars (provided by Dino Cazares/Fear Factory), big breaks, and the lyrics of Rudeboy/Urban Dance Squad. An excellent debut that really helped Tom gravitate into the electronic music world and ultimately wind up becoming one of the most sought after remixers on the market. This would happen namely due to Sasha and JXL’s second album 'Big Sounds Of The Drags', which was released in 1999 and marked a year that Tom would branch out into some more floor friendly material. The album's track 'Future In Computer Hell Pt.2' would find its way into Sasha's Ibiza Global Underground mix, further cementing Tom into the dance community. From this point on, Tom was the remixer of choice for many labels and even called in to breathe some life into Sasha's 'Airdrawndagger'.

Now comes the fourth album 'Today' which is set to follow up 'Radio JXL', where Rudeboy and Dino had retired and more refined, simple production mentality was adopted. Where “Radio JXL” had brought a wide variety of vocalists from Chuck D to Robert Smith, here on 'Today' the whole album rides on the shoulders of newcomer Nathan Mader. To many who are new to Junkie XL or those fans who might be wary of a "sophomore slump", this album will not disappoint.

The album opens with the brilliantly crisp atmosphere of 'Youthful', here we are slowly drawn into the spacious world that Tom is currently known for. Nathan's vocals make their debut here and display similar control to the vocals of Bryan Ferry and Ian McCulloch. A very 80's melancholic approach to say the least, but marries very well with Tom’s current sound. 'Mushroom' rushes right in to kick some energy into the album, as it properly embodies everything that was right in his re-working of Infusion's 'Legacy' while bringing in some catchy guitar riffs and dreamy synths.

There are quite a number of mellow tracks on the album to, 'We Become One' and 'Even In This Moment' are the standouts for me. Here Nathan is able to channel Peter Gabriel fairly well and belts out some emotionally charged lyrics underpinned by the masterful studio skills of Tom. Those of you more in tune with the dance floor side of JXL will sure be into 'I Have Got A Xerox To Copy' which has follow up to 'Breezer' pretty much written all over it. This and the title track 'Today' are the two very marketable tracks and makes me wonder if Tom is getting a little too comfortable for his own good.

'Today' is an album that follows the current Junkie XL trend to a "T", yet as a whole feels just a little too one note for me. I would have liked to see the diversity of 'Big Sounds Of The Drags' and 'Radio JXL' carry over and add a little more flavor between these tracks. Tom once again displays some great control when it comes to mixing and engineering his work, and to say there is a distinct dynamic to his work is an understatement as it permeates everything he touches. However the shake up that occurs when you get some different ideas brewing in the studio can bring the whole process up to the next level, and could be the reason why this album is slightly missing the "it" factor for me.