Today

Junkie XL | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 18, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ultra Records
• ASIN: B000ERU5HC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,900 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #33 in Music > World Music > Europe > Continental Europe > Netherlands

Track Listings

1. Youthful

2. Mushroom

3. Such A Tease

4. Today

5. Drift Away

6. I've Got A Xerox To Copy

7. Even In This Moment

8. Yesterdays

9. Honey

10. We Become One

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Super talent best spent on instrumentals, October 16, 2007

By 

GhostDeep "electronic music junkie" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Today (Audio CD)

In a recent visit to LA's Amoeba music store I picked up Junkie XL's May 2006 release Today. Listening to it on the way home I was unmoved in the same way that I was with his Radio JXL: A Broadcast from the Computer Hell Cabin. Despite some winners and rocking energy, Tom Holkenborg's pop fusions just seem too formulaic, too obvious, too much. Granted, the man who remixed Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" into a worldwide hit has made a fortune this way and clearly he's a stellar producer in the technical sense. But what's disappointing is that he's also gifted artistically, which is mostly evident with his MP3-only "radio transmissions." Still, there are two great tracks here worth special mention, "Mushroom" and "Such A Tease." These instrumentals successfully channel Holkenborg's obsession with the baroque moodiness of Disintegration-era Cure -- all strumming, underwater guitars and deep, damp bass.

It makes sense that as more techno artists engage pop formulas that they've returned to artists like The Cure and New Order for inspiration. But the current fascination with Disintegration's gothic beauty, as also heard in Jonas Bering's "Melanie," for example, creates a deeper sense that we're entering a musical period not dissimilar from the late 1980s. This has to do with generational cycles and global events perhaps. Sofia Coppola's upcoming Marie Antoinette film, which features The Cure's "Plainsong" will only strengthen this sense of deja-vu. Out of anger and the death of innocence, comes sadness and today's obsession with the past. Next, I would hope, is a genuine lust for life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Direction For JXL, May 4, 2006

By 

Electronic Fanatic (Fargo, ND USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Today (Audio CD)

If I were to compare this album to any prior work of JXL, it would be the 3AM disc of Radio JXL: A Broadcast From The Computer Hell Cabin. Today is a much lighter, airy album than his previous works, but to be honest, I enjoy the difference. If you compare Saturday Teenage Kick and Big Sounds Of The Drags, there is little difference in the overall sound of those albums. Tom is definitely growing as an artist, and this album is evidence of the transition. Today still contains JXL's hard-hitting and driving bass, but also manages to create a ethereal soundscape in the process. It may also be argued that this album is heavily influenced by the likes of New Order and Depeche Mode. If you enjoy those bands, or just JXL in general, I would invite you to give it a listen.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, April 22, 2006

By 

Brian Martin (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Today (Audio CD)

I haven't heard too many of Junkie XL's previous albums. I've a single or two everynow and then, and they seemed a lot different that what is presented here. This is A LOT more mellow than what I've heard before from him. There are no crazy, tranced out beats here, just sort of relaxed, laid back tunes. Honey is a stand out track, but all the tracks have something to offer.