Mid Air
A photo of the artist in red light, with green and pink lights projecting out from behind her.
Studio album by
Romy
Released8 September 2023
GenreDance-pop
Length34:18
LabelYoung
Producer
Singles from Mid Air
  1. "Strong"
    Released: 14 November 2022
  2. "Enjoy Your Life"
    Released: 11 April 2023
  3. "Loveher"
    Released: 7 June 2023
  4. "The Sea"
    Released: 25 July 2023
  5. "She's on My Mind"
    Released: 11 December 2023

Mid Air is the debut solo album by the xx member Romy Madley Croft, released mononymously as Romy. The album was released on 8 September 2023 by the record label Young. The album was primarily produced by Romy in collaboration with Fred Again and Stuart Price, and consists of dance-pop influenced by the likes of Everything but the Girl and Calvin Harris. Regarded by Romy as a love letter to the gay clubs she attended growing up, the album themes include love, grief, and mental health. The album was received positively by critics, and appeared on record charts from numerous countries. "Strong" was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Recording at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

Background and recording

Romy first met Fred Again in 2018, after she finished touring for the xx's album I See You.[1] The two hit it off and started writing together, with the intent of sending songs to other artists, but when they wrote "Loveher" in those sessions Romy decided the song should be hers.[1]

Romy first announced that she was working on the album during an Instagram Live set on 19 April 2020, where she also debuted the song "Weightless".[2] On 29 September that year, she released her solo debut single, "Lifetime", which was produced by Fred Again and Marta Salogni.[3] During an appearance on the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge on 17 January 2023, Romy said the album was "very close to being finished."[4]

The album was mostly written during the COVID-19 lockdown, when Romy was missing nightclubs.[5] Romy collaborated with Stuart Price on the suggestion of Young founder Caius Pawson.[5] Romy described the writing process as her and Fred Again writing and, "in terms of the evolution, the sonics and the finishing of it. that's [Price]."[5] "The Sea" was partly written during a trip to Ibiza for the xx bandmate Oliver Sim's 30th birthday.[5]

Release

Prior to the album's announcement, Romy released two singles. The lead single, "Strong", was released on 14 November 2022, and features Fred Again who also produced with Romy and Stuart Price.[6] The second single, "Enjoy Your Life", was released on 11 April 2023, features a sample of the American singer-songwriter Beverly Glenn-Copeland, and was produced by Romy, Fred Again, Price, and Romy's bandmate Jamie xx.[7]

The album was announced on 7 June 2023, and set for a release date on 8 September, by the record label Young.[8] Young, known as Young Turks until 2021, had previously released albums by the xx.[9] The album announcement came along with a third single, "Loveher", which also samples Glenn-Copeland and was produced by Fred Again.[8] The fourth single, "The Sea", was released on 25 July 2023.[10] On 11 December, a music video was released for "She's on My Mind" starring Maisie Williams and directed by Vic Lentaigne, and four tour dates were announced in 2024 for Los Angeles, New York City, Buenos Aires and Santiago.[11][12]

Style and influence

Mid Air is considered dance-pop, with The Guardian's Alexis Petridis saying it "sets out its stall at the point where pop meets the dancefloor."[13] Petridis described the album as "driven almost exclusively by four-to-the-floor beats, and featuring a voice that sounds ineffably melancholy even when singing about happiness", comparing it to Everything but the Girl's 1996 album Walking Wounded.[13] He also noted "hints of Daft Punk's filtered French house", said the song "She's on My Mind" contained "breezy Euro-disco", and that the album "most frequently evokes ... the early 00s wave of ultra-commercial trance hits."[13]

In an interview, Romy said she was intentionally referencing 2000s dance-pop and trance pop.[5] She also mentioned the influence of the Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa song "One Kiss", Tiësto's remix of the Delerium song "Silence", and English music duo Everything but the Girl.[5] She called the album a "collection of songs celebrating love, navigating loss and exploring identity", "musically inspired by dance music and a love letter to the queer clubs I first went to when I was growing up and the people I met there. The music I heard that made me feel more alive and less alone",[5] as well as "a diary of our [Romy and her wife, Vic Lentaine's] relationship"[5] and about "grief, mental health and processing".[5]

Reception

Mid Air ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[14]
Metacritic84/100[15]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[16]
DIY[17]
Exclaim!8/10[18]
The Guardian[13]
The Irish Times[19]
Mojo[20]
NME[21]
The Skinny[22]
Uncut7/10[23]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Mid Air received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 84 out of 100 from 8 critic scores.[15] Uncut felt that while it is "an album occasionally rooted in grief following the loss of Romy's parents, it seeks to take those moments of joy and dancefloor elation".[23] Mojo described the album as "an ecstatic love letter to love, but also the queer clubs where Romy found validation and her soundtrack to liberation".[20] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote that Romy "tops off vivid house and trance tunes with pop smarts and personal lyrics" and found that it is "musically far more neon-hued than the xx" although "its brightness is harnessed to lyrics that look inwards, sounding authentically personal".[13]

Awards and nominations

Mid Air awards and nominations
Year Organisation Award Recipient Status Ref.
2023 Grammy Awards Best Dance/Electronic Recording "Strong" Pending [24]

Year-end lists

Mid Air on year-end lists
Publication # Ref.
Billboard 25 [25]
Clash 48 [26]
Double J 19 [27]
The Guardian 49 [28]
Mondo Sonoro 4 [29]
NME 13 [30]
NPR Music — [31]
Oor 11 [32]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Romy Madley Croft with others noted; all music is composed by Madley Croft with others noted

Mid Air track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicProducer(s)Length
1."Loveher" Fred Gibson
3:49
2."Weightless" 
  • Romy
  • Fred Again
  • Price
  • Francine
4:29
3."The Sea" Gibson
  • Romy
  • Fred Again
  • Price
3:10
4."One Last Try" Price
  • Romy
  • Price
2:41
5."DMC" 
0:33
6."Strong" (featuring Fred Again) 
  • Gibson
  • Price
  • Romy
  • Fred Again
  • Price
3:54
7."Twice"Ilsey Juber
  • Juber
  • Price
  • Romy
  • Price
3:55
8."Did I" 
  • Gibson
  • Price
  • Romy
  • Fred Again
  • Price
3:10
9."Mid Air" (featuring Beverly Glenn-Copeland)Glenn-CopelandGlenn-Copeland
1:36
10."Enjoy Your Life"Glenn-Copeland
4:00
11."She's on My Mind" 
  • Romy
  • Fred Again
  • Price
  • Avalon Emerson
3:01
Total length:34:18

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Mid Air
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[33] 28
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[34] 171
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[35] 53
Scottish Albums (OCC)[36] 7
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[37] 79
UK Albums (OCC)[38] 15
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[39] 3
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[40] 2
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[41] 13
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[42] 41
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[43] 8

References

  1. 1 2 Kearns, Sarah (29 August 2023). "Romy's Mid Air Is an Ode to the Dance Floor". Hypebeast. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  2. ↑ Bloom, Madison (19 April 2020). "The xx's Romy Madley Croft Announces Debut Solo Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  3. ↑ Hussey, Allison (29 September 2020). "The xx's Romy Shares New Song "Lifetime"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  4. ↑ Geraghty, Hollie (17 January 2023). "Romy says her debut album is "very close" to being finished". NME. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Moore, Ralph (12 June 2023). "Artist of the Month: Romy". Beatportal. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  6. ↑ Rettig, James (14 November 2022). "Romy – "Strong"". Stereogum. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  7. ↑ DeVille, Chris (11 April 2023). "Romy – "Enjoy Your Life"". Stereogum. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  8. 1 2 Brodsky, Rachel (7 June 2023). "Romy – "Loveher"". Stereogum. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  9. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (6 April 2021). "Record label Young Turks changes name to avoid connotations of genocide". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  10. ↑ Skinner, Tom (25 July 2023). "Listen to Romy's emotional new single "The Sea"". NME. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  11. ↑ Paul, Larisha (11 December 2023). "Maisie Williams Catches Romy's Late Night Set in "She's on My Mind" Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  12. ↑ Renshaw, David (11 December 2023). "Romy shares "She's on My Mind" video starring Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams". The Fader. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Petridis, Alexis (31 August 2023). "Romy: Mid Air review – xx singer shines through dancefloor gems". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  14. ↑ "Mid Air by Romy reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  15. 1 2 "Mid Air by Romy Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  16. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Romy – Mid Air". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  17. ↑ Tipple, Ben (September 2023). "Romy – Mid Air". DIY. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  18. ↑ Barnabe, Dylan (6 September 2023). "Romy Invites You to Cry on the Dance Floor with Mid Air". Exclaim!. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  19. ↑ Kane, Siobhán (8 September 2023). "Romy's Mid Air: Lyrically introspective work as broad-brushstroke Eurovision pop". The Irish Times. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  20. 1 2 "Romy – Mid Air". Mojo. October 2023. p. 88.
  21. ↑ Levine, Nick (6 September 2023). "Romy – Mid Air review: extraordinary, winning songs from the xx vocalist". NME. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  22. ↑ Abeyawardene, Mia (7 September 2023). "Romy - Mid Air review: emotional electronic anthems". The Skinny. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  23. 1 2 "Romy – Mid Air". Uncut. October 2023. p. 34.
  24. ↑ Minsker, Evan (10 November 2023). "Grammy Nominations 2024: See the Full List Here". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  25. ↑ Havens, Lyndsey (6 December 2023). "The 50 Best Albums of 2023: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  26. ↑ Murray, Robin (13 December 2023). "Albums of the Year 2023". Clash. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  27. ↑ Leng, Karen (12 December 2023). "The 50 best albums of 2023". Double J. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  28. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (5 December 2023). "The 50 best albums of 2023 – 50 to 41". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  29. ↑ "MondoSonoro's Best Albums of 2023". Mondo Sonoro. 30 November 2023.
  30. ↑ Jolley, Ben (8 December 2023). "The best albums of 2023". NME. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  31. ↑ Cills, Hazel (5 December 2023). "The 50 Best Albums of 2023". NPR Music. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  32. ↑ "Oor's Eindlijst 2023: dit zijn de 20 beste albums van het jaar" [Oor's Final List 2023: these are the 20 best albums of the year]. Oor (in Dutch). 6 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  33. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Romy %5BUK%5D – Mid Air" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  34. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Romy %5BUK%5D – Mid Air" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  35. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Romy – Mid Air" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  36. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  37. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Romy %5BUK%5D – Mid Air". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  38. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  39. ↑ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  40. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  41. ↑ "Heatseekers Albums: Week of September 23, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  42. ↑ "Top Album Sales: Week of September 23, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  43. ↑ "Top Dance/Electronic Albums: Week of September 23, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
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