The XX Release Album. Crowd Goes Wild.

With Twitter proving to be a contemporary barometer of consumer opinion, it appears that The XX have been strongly received both critically and commercially. Indeed, it seems quite remarkable that a minimalist dubtronica album has managed to breach the UK Top 40 albums chart.


The blog buzz is also generating thick and fast, with the likes of Said The Gramophone, The Daily Growl, Pinglewood and Gorilla vs Bear all chiming in with their vociferous support for The XX. In some senses, I find that (pleasantly) surprising. For once, it appears I was ahead of the curve, talking up The XX on one of my podcasts in May last year. Back then, there were plenty of sweet murmurings about The XX but I could never have predicted that the band would be so in vogue. Why the popularity?

Is it the minimalism? The beats? The constrastingly soulful vocals? The R&B influences? Or perhaps their melancholy strikes a resonant chord with the gloomy economic climate that we're all suffering from? Whichever way you look at it, the debut album from The XX is a flickering beacon of despondence, from which we must celebrate the coming of age of one of Britain's finest young bands.

Download the BBC Radio 1 session recorded for Steve Lamacq's show from April, which I presume is pretty unavailable now. Consider it also a tribute to Lamacq's show, which is sadly soon to disappear.

THE XX - CRYSTALISED (BBC RADIO 1 SESSION)
THE XX - STARS (BBC RADIO 1 SESSION)

Listen in full to the eponymously titled debut album by The XX at we7.com then buy at Rough Trade or on iTunes.

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