Previously placed on New Music Express and Rolling Stone’s top 10 tracks for 2009 with their debut album and having won the Mercury Prize in 2010, The xx makes another giant footprint in the Indie music genre with their newest project, “Coexist”
Despite the press taking a liking to The xx, it’s clear that band members Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, and Jamie Smith have taken much of their fan’s criticism to heart — swaying away from their older, rough elements of instrumentation and adopting both a mellow sound and sentimental lyricism.
As an opener, “Angels” sets the tone for the entire album and with this t
“Coexist” is now available on iTunes. | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
rack being one of the lower tranquil songs, fans can already expect different ways in which “Coexist” might twist and turn.
Just when fans may speculate the band straying from their normal, gloomy sound, they return to their old elements with their second single “Chained.”
The xx have steered clear from their more pop-based tracks, which consist of the hook and catch chorus such as “VCR,” and created a surreal and haunting experience with tracks such as “Missing.”
“Tides” is a track which embeds itself in the alternative genre, taking on a sound similar to “Massive Attack,” mixed with any indie bands guitar and vocals that show the perfect male and female blend.
It begins with Croft and Smith’s voices fused together until a bass drops in and then the guitar and drums take the song to the dark corner of relationships saying, “You leave with the tide, and I can’t stop you leaving.”
Despite their efforts to ward themselves away from the sound, The xx has now become more dance-based. A huge example is their 10th track on the album, titled “Swept Away.”
The song contains the bass line, bass drum, vocals and patterns that holds the potential to be the next great remix.
The same vibe is expressed in “Reunion.” The track starts off with vocals and a synthesizer that creates an astounding build and pushes the listener to a house sound after the echoing vocals switch between Croft and Smith.
The album holds many genres and it possesses a chilling listening experience, but it also carries alternating feelings of depression and happiness with the use of the instrumentation — especially the way Madley’s vocals intertwine with Smith’s.
Although at first it may sound almost like a watered down sequel their debut album, “Coexist” is its own refined version of the The xx. It does not reassert their sound, but their songs are astounding performances that have no equivalent.
