| |
$12.99 CD
$16.99 LP+MP3
$9.99 MP3
|
|
THE XX
Coexist
(Young Turks)
 "Chained"
"Tides"
I don't think anyone had ever expected the xx to blow up from a quiet, unassuming band with one of 2009's most memorable albums into the credible cultural juggernaut they've since become. They remain firmly, equally footed as beloved darlings of contemporary indie culture, yet at the same time have inconspicuously sulked in the shadows of some of pop music's most recent hits, notably Drake's Take Care, Rihanna's Talk That Talk, and Shakira's Sale El Sol via extensive samples and interpolations of xx material, or in Shakira's case, a flat-out cover of "Islands" from their debut. That debut struck a chord with a huge amount of people, and anyone who's attended one of their shows knows that they manage to turn even a giant, cavernous venue like NYC's Terminal 5 into an intimate night out, with nearly everyone singing along to every word, establishing a connection to such a vast audience via the music's own intimacy and minimal, spacious landscapes. When word hit that they'd been working on a follow-up, the question on many minds was simply, "What do they do next?" and furthermore, would they be able to retain that same intimate quality while moving forward without rehashing the magic of the debut?
Expectations have been ludicrously, almost unfairly high for this album, but I'm happy to report that to my ears, this is no sophomore slump. On Coexist, they made the wise choice not to do a stylistic about-face, but instead sharpen their focus on the elements of the debut that made it a standout while flexing the muscle gained from two years of relentless touring. The shadows are darker, yet the emotional light shines brighter simultaneously, and each member displays giant growth as a performer; bassist Oliver Sim and guitarist Romy Madley-Croft's vocals in particular are more confident, more in control, and as a result express greater depth in delivering the tales of relationships' peaks and pitfalls. Where they once sounded somewhat twee and precious, they now simmer with a brooding intensity that personifies the shift from anxious, boiling anguish into a cool, consigned acceptance of adulthood. The other big change is producer/beatmaster Jamie Smith's more nuanced arrangements; where on the first album, he set up basic anchors for the tunes, his rhythms here are more complex while retaining the simplicity of the debut's production. There's also a stronger kinetic push to many of the songs; while they aren't necessarily dancefloor friendly, they pulsate with greater force and more detailed texture. Many of the tracks shuffle and pump with a flickering lamplight swing akin to some of the best beats on Burial's Untrue, hinting at memories of intense nights out rather than mapping them out in the present. The album doesn't necessarily go for big pop hooks, but rather sequences songs into suites that rely more on texture and the interplay between instruments and Sim and Madley-Croft's strong voices.
On the whole, Coexist is a very solid follow-up that should leave many longtime fans satisfied, as it displays a highly mastered concentration of what people have come to love about the band. I consider it a top contender for my personal Album of the Year, and am already beginning to rate it higher than the debut. It's a more mature, more subtle record that doesn't reach out and grab you, and for some, its lack of jump-out hooks may disappoint, but that never really was what the band was about. The xx, to me, has always been about three best friends growing and learning together, and documenting those times on record for us to be able to connect with and relate to. Let's face it, many of us as listeners have also changed in the three years since the debut, and either rehashing the past or failing to acknowledge its existence would be a foolish idea in poor taste. The xx have made the right move and have given us one of the best albums of the year. Embrace the intensity. [IQ]
|
|
