This is The xx with the album xx released in 2009 to critical acclaim and worldwide recognition. The members include Jamie xx who is in charge of production and the beats. Meanwhile Oliver is the bassist and Remy takes care of the guitar work. It's a nice set up, it's very simplistic yet surprisingly full.
This is certainly one of the albums which grows, if it doesn't grow on you, then you don't like it, fair enough. That's you, this is me.. I like it, i like the production, i like the guitar work, i enjoy the beats but i hate the vocals. The vocals are lacking one thing, passion, i don't know what Jamie xx was thinking here. This album is basically Jamie's concept with a bassist and a guitarist who sing, I'm not sure they even want to sing, it's as if they didn't want to recruit a singer, so they've settled with the munch bunch. I do believe these are the right vocals for this kind of music, anything different wouldn't give the same buzz effect which these two have.
Intro is a song in itself, for a long while it was my favorite track on the album which is so bad. I loved the reverb and the sound, the beats worked well and the harmonies were in place. It does build and it could be a very good song if it wasn't labelled 'Intro' because musically it's the best track on the album.
VCR is just utter shit, call it minimal or whatever, how basic can you get. I make it known that if i can make something as good or better as something i listen to, then it's automatically shit, this is a shit song right here. It has nothing, the beats are at the most extremely faint. The bass is hardly recognizable and the singing is plain and simple. It does nothing for me, it's just incredibly bland which is a common trait for this album I'm afraid.
I really liked the track Fantasy, i despise the lyrics.. but the music sounds very nice. If you ignore the first 80 seconds, then this could be a very good track. The production and bass is really good, with the strong reverbed guitar which is common for the album, but none the less sounds great on this track. It's one of the few tracks i can go back and listen to.
I wouldn't recommend this band to anyone.. I really wouldn't, don't waste your time, please, I'm begging you. By the time you 'understand' it, you'll ask yourself why you spent so long listening to this band when you could be listening to Burial's Untrue, know what i mean?
It's so faint, call it minimal, but it's just basic. Basic being the key word on every track. But that's what the band are going for, they can give across emotion, but in a 'minimal' way. I do like some of the tracks and can come back to them, but as an album, it's just bad.
4.5
