Altsounds - The XX - XX [Album]

The XX have been riding high on a wave of praise for their debut album since its release a copy of months ago, bolstered by support slots for Florence & The Machine (UK) and Friendly Fires (US) as well as their own headlining shows. So returning to their debut album “XX” now that (some) of the hoo-hah has died down and with thoughts turning to end-of-year best-of lists, it is good to report how well it stands up to scrutiny.

Much has been made of the youthfulness of the band: Romy Madley Croft (guitar), Oliver Sim (bass), Baria Qureshi (keyboards/guitar) and Jamie Smith (MPC sampler) started playing together at school in South London and have only just turned 20. However the real talking point is the music. It reminds me of when Portishead’s “Dummy” came out – a debut album appearing as if from nowhere, with a fully developed signature sound, that resembled no-one else around.

At first “XX” also doesn’t sound like most of the music they claim as influences - the R&B of Aaliyah through to late 80s alt-rock of Pixies and The Cure. That signature sound is made up of pulsing, fluid beats, bass and guitar lines over the whispered, almost claustrophobic vocals of Romy and Oliver. The apparent simplicity masks a more complex, seductive and in some ways timeless sound. For some the tight adherence to this dark soundscaping and the continual glacial detachment may be too wearying and might induce a catatonic trance. Plus there isn’t a stand-out track (maybe ‘Crystalised,’ the first single gets closest) which doesn’t help the casual listener wanting to dip in. But there are charms a-plenty once you give into its dark allure.

Throughout Romy’s voice is all kitten-purr come-on, Oliver’s a more unremarkable and dispassionate burr. But as foils to each other they work brilliantly, trading lines in ‘Basic Space’ or following the eerie instruction “Give It Up” (Oliver) in ‘Infinity’ with the languid sighed confession “Can’t Give It Up” (Romy). In the same way that trying to convey the sound of The XX through comparisons with bands I am reminded of (say Young Marble Giants or Japan) doesn’t fully work, neither does citing those influences the band claim do it either. But there are moments – the pop bounce of ‘Night Time’ and the stop/start hiccuping beats of ‘Basic Space’ which reference - very tangentially - the sound and gloss of modern R&B. Then there are others - like the nocturnal bass throb and echoing piano of ‘Stars’ which do point to The Cure and their ilk. Sure they are subtle, nuanced references but they are there. The XX have pulled off the feat of taking a disparate set of influences and sounds and made them truly into something greater than the sum of those parts. Maybe the X on the cover and in their name represents multiplication?

There are people who have taken a strong dislike to The XX. Some of the critical slavering around the album’s release was also strangely off-putting. But I think “XX” the album will be with us for a long time, not just a mid-year curio that is forgotten by next Spring. And it will be interesting to see how the band progress and evolve this sound on future releases. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take them the three difficult years it took for Portishead to follow-up on their much-lauded debut.