The XX
 

Ok, this band is obviously impossible to search for so if a thread already exists, my apologies.

They're getting a lot of buzz as of late, including a Best New Music nod from P4K. I heard the album before that though and deleted it promptly, only to be surprised by the almost universal praise they're getting. So I downloaded it again and listened more intently and I have to say, I still don't get it. The vocals (especially the woman's) are extremely bland, the music is simple and very low key and takes a back seat to the vocals, which are bland and all of the songs sound the same. Except the Intro which has a really groovy beat and is totally misleading as far as the rest of the album goes.

So like...what's the deal?

My friend was raving about them the other day to me and on further inspection i have to agree. It's moody music which is lacking a certain atmosphere and character, the instruments are dull as well.

A video for anyone who's interested nonetheless..

The deal is you seem to think you're under an obligation to like something just because it's new and because some people are creating a buzz about it.

It doesn't matter how new, trendy or fashionable something is. If you think it's a steaming pile of crap just say so.

I got their debut album sent to me a few weeks ago and it didn't really do much for me, but then again most indie doesn't. I kept it because I didn't overly despise it, however odds of me listening to it again with an open mind are pretty slim.

Not so bad.

They have somewhat of an attractive quality about them, I'm not exactly sure what it is.

Are they always that creepy looking?

I feel an obligation to give an album that's been getting positive feedback a shot, sure. I gave them another shot because I'm pretty dismissive with albums and i thought I'd missed something (I have been known to completely change my mind on artists, as has been well documented on this forum). That said, I think I made it pretty clear what I think of them. It's rather obvious this thread was meant as a diss, not an actual plea for people to convince me to like this album...

I quite liked that track. Melancholy in a Cure kind of way.
Chances are they're one of those bands that grow on you with repeated listens.

I actually quite like them :) I haven't got their album yet, it's on my shopping list though, but from what songs ive heard on youtube so far they're pretty classy. I can see why people don't get them, they're just not everyone's cup of tea, but if you're into the gloomier side of indie they're a breath of fresh air.

I agree with right-track, some of their guitar lines remind me of Seventeen Seconds and Faith. And i love the electro beats.

I agree. It's not bad at all. Wouldn't mind giving the album a listen, however they are certainly not the be all and end all. For melancholic dual male/female lead vocals it's still Carissa's Wierd for me.

Some of the songs are not that great, but like VCR quite a lot, if you guys have heard that one. I think this band is alright - not worthy of the huge buzz they're getting, but alright.

I liked it on the first and second listen, I didn't feel it was too dull , which is usually how I feel about album's like this one. Heart Skipped A Beat, is an especially great song.

really enjoy tracks like crystalized and islands, but most of the tracks don't have enough going on to keep me interested.

Well since I just found this site and I'm sitting here in my XX t-shirt, what better place for my first post?

They're an odd band. I first saw them at the Camden Crawl, upstairs in the Enterprise pub which was tiny. They kept fussing about the sound levels, all their songs sound like Chris Issak's Wicked Game and I thought they were dull as anything.

But they've grown on me a lot. The album is very good. There's something hypnotic about their music. I saw them again at Leeds festival the other week (where I got the (free) t-shirt) and they were probably the best band I saw there. It took me a while to get them, but I really like them now.

(Hi, by the way :wave: )

Haha...welcome. Hope you like it here...(:

Is it just me or...

The XX are nothing special. I enjoyed the album, their mellow and I'm into that sometimes, but everything is close enough to being the same that you end up just choosing a couple of the "superior" songs...for me, track 10 (whatever it was called).

Again, nothing against The XX, but they're hardly worth screaming about.

They're not amazing or anything, but their album is pretty good, they're probably best suited to a certain mood.

I've just got the album today and I really like it. Really nice sound, simple but effective. Can't put my finger on why I like it so much as describing them would probably make them sound quite generic, but there's something about them. I'll definitely give this a few more spins over the next few days.

They're supporting Florence + The Machine at my University soon. Think I'd rather see the support ahead of the headliner, often the case.

Here's what it comes down to, as far as I'm concerned. They are certainly not a bad band, and I don't think anyone with the slightest interest in indie music simlar to this would say that. They make some pleasant melancholic, simple, melodic music with nice beats. I would also fully agree that there is a sort of hypnotism about there music that makes it more enjoyable to listen to than what I might here from other bands in the same genre. However, the simple fact is, this sound has been overdone. Regardless of whether a band is doing it a little bit better than their peers, there is so much like this flooding the market. The deciding factor really is two things: first, the beats. They manage to write these soft melancholic songs that make you want to move. The other thing that sets them apart is that they actually made an album. I can't honestly say that about a lot of bands these days, as it is becoming more and more rare (in the indie rock scene) to find artists that can make something flow this well together, truly writing songs for an album rather than to get a few songs on everyone's playlists. Without those two factors, that makes you want to move when you listen to this, this band wouldn't be much different than the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Big Pink, and the whole list of indie acts coming from Scotland right now (think Twilight Sad). But are they really worth this hype? Absolutely not. I do think I realize why they got so popular though. A lot of "indie" music people are teenagers that are only listening to music, again, like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Stars of Track and Field, and that sort of thing. If you only compare them to those bands, then they do stand out, in my eyes, as one of the top bands. They are one of the only ones, as I mentioned, to have a beat like this and craft an album. So they garnered all the press from magazines like AP, which only cater to that type of sound (though I still don't understand how they are the absolute best of those bands from this year). But when you compare them to different new music, they just can't compare. For example, Lightning Bolt creates experimental rock to blow your mind; Timber Timbre is in the same vein with very simple blues but ingenious lyrics, a fantastic unique singer, and incredible diversity; Dalek writes cruel, realistic, dark lyrics and creates an abrasive, assaulting soundscape to rap to; Animal Collective uses tons of sounds at once to create a childish yet mature music where they pour forth everything they've got at once. When you put them up against bands like these, they don't seem quite as amazing, at least as far as I'm concerned.

As for Pitchfork giving them best new music, they **** up a lot, and I often find myself wondering if sometimes they all spend a day smoking crack before writing reviews and choosing music. I don't think they're all bad, but I don't trust them completely because they sometimes choose truly awful bands to hype.

EDIT: Actually the beat part doesn't apply when talking about some bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs obviously, but holds true for a lot of the melancholic Scottish indie bands.

Their album has been sitting on my computer and i've been putting off listening to it. Will get to it eventually just to see what the buzz is about, but the tracks my friends showed me didn't do much for me.

their album is actually pretty good, i enjoy it very much. recommend it to all!

When I bought my copy of This Nation's Saving Grace the clerk reccomended this band to me.. I'm still trying to figure out the connection.. but sounds like it's worth looking into.

The XX
 

Just got into them today, anyone else like them?





Very cool band, no jangly guitar bullshit to be heard. Gotta love those stark, melancholic pop songs.

The album is great. Well worth a purchase. Maybe look up Jeniferever aswell, kinda similar.

I'm in total agreement on this one. My co-workers play this album ALL THE TIME to the point where I know some of the lyrics by heart. It's extremely bland and doesn't do a thing for me musically. I'm also very surprised by all the hype surrounding them. There is this terrible rock station in San Francisco (LIVE 105) that totally overplays "Crystallized" and they're freaking out because XX is opening for Friendly Fires. No thank you, I'll pass.

I'm not entirely sure why this album is so revered. Its ok, i could sit there and listen to it reasonably contented, but ultimately it lacks that inspired core that differentiates the very best albums from the merely good ones. So, it's a solid release, but nothing to shout to the high heavens about.

Haha I was JUST checking out some concerts in the Bay for Thanksgiving break last night, and I saw all the hype around Friendly Fires and The XX concert(s?). Got a good laugh out of that. I'll slip into The Heartless Bastards opening for Wolfmother at The Fox Theater- which is under the radar, despite a far superior band playing at a great venue. :)

On topic: The XX album was decent- cool concept, but not something I can listen to continuously; maybe once every blue moon when I'm in the exact right mood.

I don't think it holds up to repeated listenings that well,but it's quite good.