It has been almost three years since English indie band The xx released an album, and the wait has proved to be worth every second. For dedicated xx fans, Coexist, will not disappoint. The group has come back with a mature and smooth sound, while keeping their simple and sad roots that listeners fell in with.
The consistent theme in the album is based on the feelings associated with intimacy between two people. Most of the feelings are negative, though it is not suggested in song titles like “Reunion,” “Fiction,” or “Tides,” these particular songs speak of tension and stale feelings amongst former lovers. In “Reunion” two people go on about how they wish to see each other but their past would not make it a pleasant or ideal experience. Singers Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim sing, “Did I see you see me in a new life? / Never, not ever, never, not ever again!” The final beat fades away and continues in the next track “Sunset,” making it a sort of continuation.
“I saw you again / It felt like we had never met / It’s like the sunset in your eyes, it never wanted to rise,” Croft sings. Throughout the song, Croft and Sim tell a sad story about two strangers who were once more than friends. “I always thought it was sad / The way we act like strangers / After all that we had we act like we had never met.” Those who have listened to xx know that their songs rarely digress from issues of the heart; the band delivers these otherwise jaded feelings in such a subtly painful way, along with a style that leaves the audience hooked.
The trio experiments with different tonalities in their songs. With the use of relative major and minor chords between the vocals, keyboard, and strings, their songs are like hopeful tragedies. The pauses in between songs add variation, so their music are not ordinarily structured, which is another xx trademark. The members of the group explain that they were heavily influenced by dance and club music, while producing the album. And although their sound has been called electric or indie pop, it is far from anything heavy–however, the influence can be heard in the rhythms and bass parts throughout the album.
Coexist is the compilation of the three young musicians Croft, Sim and Jamie XX. Together they have delivered their second album, and have improved their strength and capability while also revealing their complex and artistic ways of thinking. All these factors are evident in their work. Each song is individual, connected by themes of intimacy and forgotten romance. Lovers coexisting, intertwined in each others sadness, people coming together to enjoy the music they love. The xx is currently touring through North America, and will make later appearances in Europe.
