Very rarely does a band come around that completely stops me in my tracks. Even more rare is this achieved on the strength of one album. The XX, however, are that band. Possibly one of the most interesting bands to have come out of the past 10 years, the four piece perfectly convey the isolation and loneliness one can feel in such a sprawling city as London (originally from Putney, the XX attended the same school as Micachu, Hot Chip and dubstep-hero Burial.) The concept of ‘maximum-minimum’ is bandied about with much abandon, but on their self-titled debut, The XX manage to accomplish it with aplomb. If you were to strip down the band to its key elements, you could hardly believe that the intensity and prowess of the music could come from such simple beginnings. The most glorious aspect of the band are lead singers Romy Croft and Oliver Sim’s dueling, symbiotic vocals that never reach more than a gentle hush. It’s almost as if the Moldy Peaches removed their shambolic elements, took singing lessons and then spent all of their time listening to The Jesus and Mary Chain.
The goth influence, glaringly apparent in their strict all-black attire and ‘Pornography’-era Cure haircuts, does not mean that the album is gloomy. Songs such as ‘Basic Space’ and ‘Night Time’ are genuinely uplifting, with percussionist Jamie layering simple, atmospheric drum samples that sound like a tranquilized Aphex Twin or DJ Shadow. The stand-out track on the album, ‘Basic Space’, sounds like it’s been found on an old tape deck, where the sound quality has aged beautifully. The band’s simplistic attitude make for such delightful hearing when a lot of contemporary music these days seems to be striving to be intentionally garish. Yes, I’m talking to you, Muse, Mika, Hockey, etc. Thank god for the XX, who seem to triumphantly distance themselves from the pretense that is modern music and instead carve their own path without relying on massively over the top production. In fact, samplist Jamie is the producer, and his flair and talent can be seen on the numerous remixes the XX have produced; one to certainly check out is their reworking of Florence and The Machine’s cover of ‘You’ve Got The Love.’
Quite simply, the XX are a band that I have not stopped listening to since I saw them at Reading earlier this year. If you’re going to buy one album, let it be this. It will prove to be one of the most satisying decisions you’re going to make.
10/10
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