The XX - XX
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Music CD Cover
Artist: The XXEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2009-10-06
Music Label: Xl Recordings
Soundtracks:
- Intro
- VCR
- Crystalised
- Islands
- Heart Skipped A Beat
- Fantasy
- Shelter
- Basic Space
- Infinity
- Night Time
- Stars
Free Music Notes for XX
Free Music Review: Intimacy in Grayscale
Hit: 5 Stars
From its very beginning, the overall mood of The xx's debut release escorts the listener down a rainy highway, and its desolate atmospheres deepen the impact of its sometimes poignant lyrics. The catchy minimalism of "xx" has made The xx the "new cool thing" in some circles, and I suspect that right now, bittersweet breakups and intimate moments between many, many couples are occurring with "xx" as their soundtrack. Despite their indie hype, this increased visibility is warranted. "xx" is a welcome reprieve from the explicitly nostalgic turn that currently seems to be all the rage.
The xx are not virtuosos in the classic sense. Bassist/singer Oliver Sim, however, plays bass and sings expressively with seemingly little effort; a task that takes no small amount of musicianship. Along with guitarist and singer Romy Madley Croft, they have a sexy synergy that makes "xx" simultaneously masculine and feminine. Couples with a shared interest in addictively singable tunes and starry atmospheres will most likely find lots of common ground.
I would say that the atmosphere on "xx" is dreamy, but not hallucinogenic. There are times when The xx dips into Pink Floyd territory, but there is in no way a longing for psychedelia. Instead, perhaps the reverby soundscapes of mid-period Cure is the most appropriate comparison, while the loose, unassuming guitar seems to recall Lou Reed. In total, this atmosphere, like many albums that feature simple, reverb-laden guitar, recalls the dark beauty of Angelo Badalamenti's soundtrack for "Twin Peaks."
The entire album is pretty consistent, so if you have heard a little of their work, the rest of the album will pay off. Suggesting specific tracks for the uninitiated is a little difficult, but the song that piqued my interest in The xx was "Crystalized." That song pretty much sums up their work as well as any. The lyrics to "Crystalized" describe a desire for intimacy that is tempered by a frustrated alienation. Both Croft and Sims sing a unique verse separately, but then simultaneously sing these verses on top of each other, as if to speak so loudly as to not hear. This is the sort of subtle emotional tension that pervades "xx" as w whole.
THE LOWDOWN: The xx are wonderfully minimal, and certainly write catchy tunes, but beyond that, "xx" is an album that can be listened to and appreciated on multiple levels. On one level, it is melodic and accessible enough to invite the listener to sing along. It also, however, has the capability to provide a "still moment" in a hyperactive day, in which the listener can look out a window into a grayer world that is somehow more vivid.
XX Poster
The Xx unique make-up is an inadvertent second nature marriage of 2009's urban/guitar tribes, in one corner fluttering new wave indebted reverberation, in the other, plumes of post-dubstep sub-bass and figuratively, their defining core of rich R&B vocal textures. The enveloping vocal partnership of Romy and Oliver is one that would've dropped-jaws in any decade this century, and set amidst a shivering soundscape of beats and plucks, their bedroom-reared concrete-soul is being justly heralded as the UK's most original and treasured alt. pop artifact of late.Alternative Rock Music CDs
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