Ii — Allie X Collxtion
The album relies heavily on retro, 1980s-inspired synthesizers. These cold, mechanical sounds mirror the feeling of emotional detachment.
: A sparkling, upbeat anthem that subverts nostalgia. It uses glittering synths to look back at a past relationship through rose-colored glasses, acknowledging the romance while remaining grounded in the present reality.
“You came back,” he said, almost proud.
Known for his work with Britney Spears and Robyn, Billboard provided the explosive, bass-heavy foundations for the album's lead singles. allie x collxtion ii
The album kicks off with a punch. "Vintage," in particular, is a standout, featuring squelchy synths and a nostalgic cowbell that echoes early Madonna, showcasing her capability to create infectious, retro-influenced pop.
Allie X possesses a formidable vocal range. She effortlessly shifts from a piercing, operatic falsetto to a raspy, spoken-word delivery, using her voice as an additional instrument to convey psychological distress.
As Allie X explained in an interview with Out Magazine , the project is a "study of how much of me is actually me, and how much is informed by pain and trauma". It navigates "the loss and fragmentation of one's identity" through a lens of woozy, experimental, yet ultimately accessible synth-pop. It uses glittering synths to look back at
The lead single kicks off with a distinct, earworm whistling melody. The track likens a fragile relationship to paper cuts—minor, but numerous and stinging. The metaphor extends to the superficial nature of the affection she received, suggesting a masochistic willingness to bleed for attention.
Perhaps the most innovative aspect of CollXtion II's creation was a unique, fan-driven process Allie X called . To gauge which tracks would ultimately make the final cut, Allie shared a series of demos through a Spotify playlist. This collection included tracks like "Alexandra" and "Purge," which, while beloved, didn’t make the final tracklist but were later compiled in their own right.
Allie X’s CollXtion II is more than an album. It is a bold, high-concept masterpiece that defined the indie-pop landscape of the late 2010s. Following the enigmatic success of her debut EP, CollXtion I, this 2017 full-length release solidified Allie X as a visionary architect of "avant-garde pop." The Evolution of the X Persona The album kicks off with a punch
: A high-energy, theatrical pop song. It satirizes the pursuit of the perfect, superficial lover, masking emotional emptiness with dance-floor bravado.
: A love-themed track that originally appeared in the Unsolved playlist.
Unique to this album was the CollXtion II: ɄNSOLVED era, a collaborative period in 2016 where Allie X released various demos and teasers to allow fans to help decide the final tracklist. Many tracks like "Alexandra" and "Misbelieving" were popular but ultimately didn't make the final cut due to production preferences. Official Tracklist