The xx- xx & Coexist

from left: Oliver Sim, Romy Madley-Croft, Jamie Smith

The xx- a trio now, firstly duo, quartet later on, originally from London. Indie pop, active from 2008. Called themselves The xx just because they liked the letter x.

I fell in love with The xx from the very first notes I heard from their first album, "xx". It's connected to some very special moments of my life, as long as it's been played in the background during meetings, dates, learning, sleeping... Whole lot of it. Easy to say, their music is great. By its simplicity, originality, beautiful lyrics, The xx created a whole new value. In the era of pulverising electronic music, The xx bring the balm with melancholic vibe. Said to be a disco Joy Division of spidery guitar, spacey beats and sinuous bass, with hushed boy-girl vocals tiptoeing through love, sex and loneliness. But those sad songs are rooted in real tragedies.

There's a huge difference I can hear between their two albums. "xx" sounds much more cheerful, with high-pitched beats on a regular basis (in contrast with the 2nd album, full with low-pitched sounds), rock'n'roll-ish drive and not-so-serious lyrics, often describing less serious issues than tough suffering and love (e.g. "VCR") or no lyrics at all ("Intro", one of the most amazing melodies of all times).

Somehow I forgot about them for a few months or so and then I hear the amazing "Shelter", which remains one of my The xx's favs, while watching a movie "I Am Number Four"  (ALEX PETTYFER, MARRY ME!). Shame on me, I couldn't recall where I knew the melody from... It was such a pain in the neck that I went to see the movie once again. It worked! As soon as I got home, I've started playing The xx on an infinite loop. That was in the beginning of year 2011, and now it's the end of 2012. How cool is that?

Later on, I heard that their 2nd album was going to be released some when in Spring 2012, I'm not sure if I misunderstood something or what but I finally got to buy "Coexist" excited as hell in September (BTW, there were only 2 [!] specimens on the shelf in our local media store, n/c). Somehow I felt that I need to be in some specific mood to play that album for the first time to make sure I can appreciate every note of it because as far as I was concerned after getting to know the "xx" album, it can change your mood in seconds. So it finally happened about 2 weeks ago, in the middle of October... How stupid may this seem?

Anyways, I'm in love AGAIN. "Coexist" is utterly different. Sounds more serious and mature, lyrics are focused on the feeling of real love. Some of the songs give me a feeling that I could play them to my lover, if I happened to have one, like "Angels" (or "Sunset", one I could play to my ex). That pretty much describes the whole album... It also gives the needed calm on a sleepless night when it's way too loud inside your head, it just straightens the thoughts, relaxes and makes your heart go slower. It also goes perfectly with the mood you get while having a long autumn walk by the lake. Panacea?

A few xx remixes: