Bit by bit; piece by piece; blog post by blog post, we're getting a pretty transparent picturing of Kisses' unimpeachably sprightly sophomore recording, Kids in LA . First came The Hardest Part ; then Huddle and now, as the anticipation hots up over their imminently Cascine-released endeavours, the duo comprising Jesse Kivel and Zinzi Edmundson turn us onto Air Conditioning. Perhaps the most progressive of the three unveiled thus far, there's an icy, unmistakably '80s electropop aesthetic palpitating away at its core as Kivel impersonates an unprecedentedly jovial Oliver Sim atop a glacial backdrop composed of [...]
Putney's primary monochromic miserablists The xx seem to be a more or less permanent fixture in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge – they're in as often as Edith Bowman most probably. Alas, they were absent when we were in a couple weeks back, but they were again present and correct for the umpteenth time this year last night as they uttered dulcet mumbles and transmogrified Kings of Tomorrow's deep house classic Finally into a smouldering, typically reverb-sodden, though atypically upbeat romp. I tend to veer clear of the trio's unorthodox versions – their take on Last Christmas is something [...]
If Oliver Sim from The xx were to cover a song by Depeche Mode featuring Hurts ... well, that would sound exactly like Thomas Azier . He is a Berlin-based but originally Dutch multi-instrumentalist and plays some splendid electropop with occasional darkwave influences. Thomas started getting some exposure in 2011, when he supported Finnish pop female trio LCMDF (that stands for Le Corps Mince De Françoise ) but [...]
Whilst we're on the subject of Valentines Day, it looks like we forgot a present that was sent to us (aka everyone) from all around lovlies - THE XX. Whilst you were off smooching your partner or attempting to pick up at some terrible Valentines Day club night or even wallowing in self-pity. The xx were busy uploading a special video for all their beloved fans who would probably give up their date for one night alone with the British triplet. The video is a [...]
The xx headline two back to back nights at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas.
Solange invites Oliver Sim of the xx and Dev Hynes to "Make It Hot" Nicole Wray-style in London.
If real-life was awesome, Solange would turn her !!-grabbing "anti-cultural tourism" Twitter rant into a side project with a revolving door of her "indie"-world friends, call it #deepBrandyalbumcuts, and spend the rest of 2013 touring the globe educating folks on the best of pre-2012 R&B with an accompanying covers EP. Also, that track one of the release would be a studio-made rendition of the remake of late 902s Nicole Wray jam "Make It Hot" that she and The xx's Oliver Sim gifted the London XOYO patrons (and eventually the rest [...]
Last night at London's XOYO, Solange put on a hell of a show, at one point inviting on stage Oliver Sim of the xx for a rousing rendition of late 90s rnb jam "Make It Hot." Naturally, someone caught it on video. Check out the performance below: Read more articles like " The xx's Oliver Sim joins Solange for "Make It Hot" " on Pretty Much Amazing . Tags: Solange , The XX
For her show in London last night, Solange Knowles had the excellent idea of covering Nicole Ray’s "Make It Hot" alongside The xx' s Oliver Sim. As Solange explained, "Me and Oliver have bonded over our love of 902s and 20002s R&B." Watch the replay below (via Listen Before You Buy ). As previously reported , Solange is set to tour North America next month in support of her True EP . I'd pay her $50 if she'll cover "Bonnie & Clyde" and have Bradford Cox be Jay-Z. [...]
Last night at Solange 's show at XOYO in London she wasn't content with killing it already that she had to bring out The xx 's Oliver Sim to provide vocals on a cover of Nicole Ray's 1998 R&B jam that featured Missy Elliot . Check out the subdued, laidback, black and white version of one of the late-902s best R&B tracks (original below too), with Oliver dropping some near-spoken-word lines and singing along to the chorus. The xx's [...]
Following on from the XX's decade defining eponymous début everyone was curious to know what the trio's next move would be. There was almost hushed reverence when they announced their comeback with first single "Angels". "'Coexist' is an overwhelming success with a melancholic, bleak landscape of sparse sounds portraying the distance felt between once lovers who share no [...]
The xx are known for having a buzzworthy first album and a snoozeworthy second album, so much so that they are known as 'the zz' by many authentic alts who are 'over them.' But as with 'mainstream indie bands', it doesn't matter if their music is good, people still go to their concerts out of boredom and a desire to be relevant. One fan got more than he bargained for when he went to an xx show. Soon, he realized that he was being eyeball fucked. Oliver Sim gazing into the [...]
Mellow, minimalist, shy, ghosty...are The XX. The UK trio have got a few types of songs - pretty much - that span across two albums, but the lack of stretch is fine, really, when you're playing lush creepers. Somehow, the songs connect. And last night at Vancouver's Vogue Theatre, the band, swathed mostly in white or blue lights and dressed in black for maximum baby goth effect, played to a swooning audience, who sang even louder than they did. (Really. Arsingly. Annoyingly.) Oliver and Romy traded dulcet vocals, producer whizz kid Jamie traded between decks, drums [...]
A couple years back Albarn honoured The xx' magnum opus, Crystalised, with a stirring rework to convincingly ameliorate its original recording . Needless to say the soufwest London trio have been around and about a little of late, having last week released the long-awaited sophomore effort in Coexist although this one again betters anything contained therein. It's Crystalised that is once more recombined almost chemically, but this time it's trip hop alchemist Martina Topley-Bird who's the artist most prominent. And another eminent redux it is, too: the jazzy St. Pancras songstress assumes the [...]
On their sophomore effort, London dream pop outfit the xx drum up more of the skeletal, emotive style their first album delivered. WATCH THE REVIEW
For a band so gelid; so chic; so aloof, Putney's The xx have, perhaps surprisingly, always been the polar opposite of the sort of band to whistle up polar opposites, or indeed much variation whatsoever. If you've prior to this read reviews glossing over the reality that Coexist is, stylistically, about as similar to xx as two ice cubes may be, or if you've slid across hackneyed phrasing of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' and so forth then there are to be few surprises in store. For Coexist is more [...]
There is a maturity and purity in their sound; a combined confidence in voice, instrument, and production that is hypnotic in its simplicity.
When The xx released their debut album, xx , I’m not entirely sure they realized the response would be so viscerally in their favor, especially since their sound relies so heavily on apathetic tranquility. Coexist calls on the same tonality of their debut, combining whispery vocals and ornamentally beautiful instrumentation to transform each sleight into a spectacle. The xx are unusual in how they incorporate brief moments of quiet and negative space into their [...]
On 4th July, the XX filmed an intimate version of "Angels" in a Tokyo hotel room, the lead single of their recently completed second album 'Coexist'. Even more stark and beautiful than on record, Romy Madley-Croft's fragile and affecting vocal coupled with a reverberating les paul encapsulated the finest melodies from the last album whilst a [...]
The XX - Co-Exist By Greg Salter In an era when young bands’ debut albums are often previewed and hyped excessively for months, even years, The XX ’s first album emerged with relatively little fanfare back in 2009 and promptly floored just about everyone who heard it. The unique combination that brought the band success is now so familiar that it hardly bears repeating – the interplay between the vocals of Oliver Sim and Romy Madley-Croft, the R&B-derived melodies, Jamie Smith’s focused distillation of dance music textures, and, more [...]
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