Right, we know you’re all bored as hell of talking about the pandemic and what could have been this past summer. The missed musical opportunities were massive: dancing to Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia at an all-night disco; going somewhere very gay to hear Gaga’s “Rain on Me”; the idea of dropping into a split in the middle of club as soon as Cardi utters the words “Certified freak”. Well here’s another sad one for you: as the sun rises, after you leave a rave, you could’ve been blasting Romy from The xx’s new single as you wandered your way home.
Yep, after Jamie xx decided to drop one of the most frenetic, excellent singles of the year in the form of “Idontknow”, his band mate has decided to release solo material too. “Lifetime”, produced by Fred again.. and Marta Salogni, was written and recorded during lockdown, and bursts with the unfulfilled energy of wanting to be close to the ones you love again. Before jumping into a mega, Eurodance chorus, she sings: “If this world comes to an end / I wanna be there with you.”
Designed to be blasted at full volume, this euphoric dance-pop number — oddly up-tempo for a voice normally paired with the slow, sexual, plucked strings of The xx — is a stunning return to music for Romy. She’s also recently been writing for likes of Dua Lipa.
The song, she says, is about “being totally in the moment and celebrating it”. Hopefully it’s the start of a fun and illustrious pop career for her; a whole album of this would blow our socks off. Listen below — and oh, Oliver Sim, you’re up!