Bad Guy Music: The xx, xx
Ahem, as I have said, it’s a busy week. Some bad guys are helping out with content (see post below) . So here is a post from resident Bad Guy Music Guy, since I don’t know how to write about music. This is very exciting.
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Us Bad Guys like music. In fact, we love music. Not in an elitist Pitchfork kind of way, even though we are well-versed and opinionated in our own right. We’ll give it to you straight-up, like a chest x-ray, what we like and what we don’t . This week: The xx, xx.
The xx are a UK four-piece, combining a mellow 80s new-wave sound with lush pop-soul tinges. Romy Madley Croft (lead guitar) and Oliver Sim (bass) share co-ed vocal swapping, crafting a dark, emotional, and almost numbingly beautiful self-titled album. The xx are not the only UK band who are re-envisioning the sounds of the 80s (White Lies also comes to mind), but they have done so in a restrained and cohesive way. Numerous tracks stand out (“VCR”, “Islands”, “Heart Skipped a Beat”, “Shelter”), as this album should stand out as one of the most impressive debuts of the year.
xx comes out in October stateside, but if you pre-order the album on vinyl or cd through their website, you can download the mp3 album immediately.
