The xx
Coexist
(Young Turks)

The xx, are back with their second hyped-up album, Coexist. In 2009, the British band released a debut LP transforming simple keyboard, progressions, airy guitar with the dynamic voices of Romy Madley-Croft and Oliver Sim for a refined signature sound. The music is plain, yet it evokes a ton of emotion. In “Angels,” Madley-Croft sings, “Light reflects from your shadow/It is more than I thought could exist/You move through the room.”

Coexist remains truthful to their signature sound. The xx haven’t changed much, they have a more polished sound, adding more rock guitar, club edge, and redundant hooks. “Chained,” “Try,” and “Angels” sound closer to the original debut LP, and Sim and Croft’s voices synchronize on “Tides” and “Our Song.” In “Our Song” they sing, “When no one wants to/I will give you me/And We’ll be/Us.” The xx puts a quiet beauty into their music with the rest left unspoken.