(photo: Owen Richards)
I’m finding it extremely difficult to find an original angle with which to write about The xx. Frank at Chromewaves already covered the “next big thing that might actually be the next big thing” angle, and Pitchfork focuses on the band’s mature sound in spite of their young age (four members, each one 20 years old). judging by what most other outlets are saying about the band, that pretty much covers all the angles. Nothing more left to say, really.
Except that, when it comes to The xx, there is so much more that just defies description or language. They are a band best listened to rather than discussed. Their starkly beautiful semi-self-titled debut album (xx) is well on it’s way to becoming this year’s most celebrated debut. It’s so bloody simple that you wonder why we ever needed anything more. With just spare guitars, bass, drums and drum machine, and the back-and-forth vocals of Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft, The xx have created a sonic universe that’s spooky, sexy, and seductive. “Infinity” is what you’d get if Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” made out with Massive Attack’s “Blue Lines” at a house party in the suburbs. The single “Crystalised” blows me away with how much it does with so little. The verses are sung over basic bass lines, and the choruses are nothing more than breathy “eye-ee-eye-ee-eyes”, and yet you’d think The xx have invented music by the way it sounds so fresh.
Like Frank, I sometimes think that albums like xx that make such a strong initial impression me don’t have the lasting power the a slow grower does, but the difference is that flash-in-the-pan bands are usually banking on a trend or playing copy cat with the latest blog buzz-worthy album; what The xx have done is re-set the rules and started a whole new game. It won’t be long before someone comes along and tries to ape their sound and style, but they’ll be hard-pressed to better xx. The more I listen to this record, the more I think I’m in love.
MP3: The xx “Basic Space”
MP3: The xx “Infinity”
Myspace: The xx
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