"Swedish producer, DJ, and vocalist Oli XL brings a certain glitzy ambition to his glitchy creations, the kind that can translate the ambiguous atmospheres of left-field electronic music for relative newcomers. There's an earnest fervor around his work; in fan Q&As, he fields nerdy, in-the-weeds questions about the minutiae of his process and inspirations. Acolytes have clamored for Oli's debut project on Warp Records for years (single " Go Oli Go!" came out way back in 2021), circulating the tongue-in-cheek hashtag "#FreeOli" as he's navigated what he terms "contract hell" with the label. Following a surprise drop in August, the record is free: Lick the Lens - Pt. 1 (which anticipates an eventual Pt. 2 later this year) offers chic, indie-tronic glamor and the irrepressible fizz of a kid winning the science fair."
"Oli has said Lick the Lens' mini-album format was inspired by K-pop, a choice that might scan as gimmicky in an earlier era of IDM, but hardly registers as such in 2025's online hodge-podge, a decade removed from PC Music 's emergence. Still, it hints at a tension in appraising these songs: Behind their glossy surface aesthetic, do they work as communal pop, introverted electronica, both, or neither?"
Oli XL, a Swedish producer, DJ, and vocalist, channels glitzy ambition into glitchy electronic productions that make left-field atmospheres accessible to newcomers. Enthusiastic fans engage deeply, asking technical questions and circulating #FreeOli amid a prolonged contract dispute with Warp Records. Lick the Lens - Pt. 1 arrived as a surprise in August and blends chic indie-tronic glamour with effervescent, youthful energy. The mini-album format draws explicit inspiration from K-pop, reframing IDM-era expectations within 2025's eclectic online landscape. The songs occupy a tentative space between communal pop and introverted electronica, creating an appealing but ambiguous artistic identity.
Read at Pitchfork
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