The New Music

“Album of the year” is a term that should never be used lightly, but I have this hunch that London foursome The xx will be the repeated recipients of such an honour come December. (I pretty much solidified my decision back in August.)

Though major hype has been hanging over them for quite some time, it wasn’t until their debut album, xx, dropped in the UK late this summer when everyone could hear for themselves that this is a band with unlimited scope and potential.

The four members all met at the same school that boasted alumni such as Hot Chip, Four Tet and Burial, which is one hell of an academic pedigree. There must be something in the Elliott School’s curricular, because The xx are as innovative as their peers.

With a penchant for undertones, The xx integrate ambient’s minimalism, shoegaze’s ethereal, droning textures, post-punk’s angular guitar lines and R&B’s crisp, snapping rhythms. This is all on top of the gorgeously congregated vocals of Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim that obsess over sex and regret. Think the slight arrangements of Young Marble Giants, blended with The Kills’ sexuality, filtered through some discarded beats Timbaland never gave Aaliyah.

“Intro” doesn’t follow the usual role of a song with such a title, jumping right into staccato notes and a looped drumbeat. It’s also one of the more pronounced tracks on the album.

“VCR” uses some tremolo guitar tones akin to The Cure and clapping to conduct the first duet between Croft and Sim. “Crystalised” is probably the most unlikely single you’ll hear all year, because it’s essentially just Sim’s floating voice over top extended, amorphous droning and eventually some guitar reverberations. It’s also one of most arresting songs you’ll hear in 2009.

“Islands” helps make a convincing argument that The xx are really a soul band in the body of hip art school grads, with Croft’s spilling her heart over a ghostly bed of tenuous noise. “Heart Skipped A Beat”, on the other hand, uses its title to kick-start the tempo a little, demonstrating more of those futuristic R&B beats that will make this band the next big producers in demand.

“Basic Space” is another inconspicuous single that uses the passionately deep and dozy vocal turns by the two singers to provide depth to the minimalistic, yet devotional instrumentation (i.e. some deep sub-bass) that drops in and out of the song. Infinity” follows it with a complete 180, using the instruments – a clobbering drum, echo-laden guitar scaling - to build the emotion while the two singers merely hum their parts.

What’s so remarkable about xx is that it never loses its mojo or desire to remain diverse while sticking to a formula. Even in its final moments it keeps the momentum alive: Night Time uses a childlike music-box to accentuate the seductive melodies, while “Stars” appears like a defibrillator to escalate the pulse to end things with an abrupt rush.

Like I said, album of the year, without a doubt.

Artist: The xx
Album: xx
Release Date: October 6, 2009
Label: XL Recordings
Author: Cam Lindsay
First Spin Live Until: October 13, 2009

Track Listing:

1. Intro
2. VCR
3. Crystalised
4. Islands
5. Heart Skipped A Beat
6. Fantasy
7. Shelter
8. Basic Space
9. Infinity
10. Night Time
11. Stars