XL's Room
On the 30th of September 2022, Joey XL released his debut EP XL’s Room which consists of 6 mesmerising RnB tracks with influences of indie, dancehall and hip-hop. Including popular track to the bank.
Hailing from East London, Joey XL started his music career in songwriting for major artists internationally which all changed after a session with tyler, the creator, Joey was convinced to start his solo career.
Speaking about the EP Joey XL says:
“This EP is a journey of self-discovery - each track speaks to my musical and mental evolution, crossing genre and themes, ending with passionate optimism that everything happens for a reason and the best is yet to come.”
The EP opens with ‘to the bank’ being the most played track on the EP so far according to Spotify, with over 225,000 plays. to the bank is a track that expresses the struggles of the constant rat race but mostly Joey discusses the issues of being surrounded by fake supporters or fake friends. In a world of constantly second-guessing people’s intentions, it’s best to cut off all the bad energy and stay only surrounded by real support.
Following is Special. The intro consists of a Caribbean woman talking about how much of a “banger” this track is. It’s undeniable that there is a certain beauty when it comes to this track. Whether it be the fact the track is a love song in which Joey XL is talking about how “special” someone is/was to him, or if it’s the swooning production of the track. Maybe it’s the combination of the two.
Switching to an acoustic guitar sound, track 3 Safe to Say continues with the theme of love. Joey talks about how “before [he] give all [his] love, [he] needs to be sure” which kind of shows again this overshadowing lack of trust he has with people.
Continuing the acoustic sound and theme of love, this time, You Deserve is a track that seems to be written about either during a breakup or post-breakup. Joey talks about how the person he is talking to “deserves what [they] are worth”, this may be a reflection of Joey expressing his accountability within the discussion.
Track 5, Fix Your Lonely, another acoustic starting track is continuing the similar themes as You Deserve in the sense of again this could be a track about either during a breakup or post-breakup. This time the topic of conversation is something that the majority of fresh breakups experience, the continuing reminder of the other person’s absence and the feeling of wanting to be in their space again.
The last track on the EP, perfect timing, no longer has the acoustic sound that was present in tracks 3 to 5. Joey XL uses lyrics like “I know you waiting for me, waiting for me”, so it can be assumed Joey is talking to the same person he has throughout the EP. Potentially wanting to rekindle the connection that is being discussed. This track is a perfect track to finish the EP with the use of strings and the guitar on the outro.
To conclude XL’s Room is a beautifully written and produced EP that listeners can resonate with on multiple levels.