Tuned In, Turned Up

In 2009, the xx debuted their first album, which offered a quiet, yet emotionally sound contrast to the emerging indie music scene. This album demonstrated the band’s exceptional ability as minimalist songwriters, and also showcased their ability to write a cohesive album. It has been three years since that record debuted, and the expectations for their newest album, Coexist, were at an all time high.

Fans of the first xx record are almost guaranteed to like this album as well, as they follow a very similar structure and the band stays remarkably true to their original sound. Musically, it is easy to hear the growth that has developed within the musicians, Romy Croft, Oliver Sim and Jamie Smith. Lyrically, however, I feel as though the band has regressed slightly. Some of the songs on the record did a fantastic job of connecting to our romantic emotions, but most of the songs seem to fall short of any real connection.

Coexist flows extremely well as a whole, as does their first album, xx. This band’s talent is apparent, as it takes true musicians to write an album, as opposed to a collection of individual songs released on the same disk. I strongly believe this band is one of the most musically talented of the present indie music scene, however whether or not they continue to gain success will depend on their ability to match their musical depth with equally powerful lyrics.

Listen to Coexist: