The XX: 'XX'

The XX are a four piece band of early twenty year olds hailing from South West London. Here they offer their debut offering aptly titled XX. It was recorded in the basement of a tiny office and it sounds like it. Fatigue literally haunts the entire album which is also plagued by singular bleakness throughout. It was made under moonlight by a bunch of introverted misfits and probably intended to be listened to by the same. You almost feel as if you are intruding upon privacy listening to the vocals, like reading someone’s diary or love letters. It is the theme of love, or more precisely sex, which dominates the album. There are no big moments, the songs are by no means magnificent, and the melodies themselves are not particularly memorable either. I’ve listened to this album a few times and still cannot commit a single line to memory. However, the whole intended feel for this album is absolutely perfect, in fact is quietly transcendent.

Trying to place this album into one genre, or even mood, is the first challenge. Epic? Atmospheric? Downbeat Miserbalism? None seem to be appropriate. Night music is certainly a good term yet this is an overblown term associated to anything. I’m almost directed towards that awful term of trip-hop in the same vain as Massive Attack or Portishead, yet even that is not entirely accurate.

Whatever this is, it’s a couple album intended to be listened to on those dark desolate nights. Twin vocals from Romy Croft and Oliver Sim trade off against each other in playful dialogue; perfectly complementing each other as they saunter around the bare minimum of their band.

It is to the band we turn to next who are a bizarre bunch in their own right. They are certainly not competing with one another to be heard, they almost seem disinterested by the whole affair. However, this only adds to creating and effortlessly created mood. With heavily-soaked reverbed guitars, fragile drumbeats, syncopated electronic clicks, and the occasional sub-ass rumbles all played with aloofness, the overall sound is quite stunning. What makes this album so unique is its strong influence from the R&B world both in vocals and sound.

It’s certainly too early to be rating this album as this is almost certainly an album that rewards repeated listens; It’s even too early to highlight standout tracks. If nothing else, it is set apart from a lot of music loosely grouped together into this genre of music and for that alone is an achievement in itself.