Day 194: The xx – Coexist
The only touch point I have to the xx recently is listening to the solo material of Jamie xx, otherwise I’ve not really listened to them much since the Tumblr hipster days of my youth. But I’ve convinced myself that my nervous system is all out of whack and I need to engage in things that help me relax, and the xx are very much relaxing, so I’m diving back in – it’ll be a trip down memory lane to the halcyon days of 2012 with their album Coexist.
Album cover courtesy of Young Turks
The xx was formed by Oliver Sim, Jamie Smith, and Romy Madley Croft, three school friends who met at the Elliott School in Putney. They became known for their dancey indie pop that they started making from a fairly young age, having started touring together when they were only 17. Coexist was the band’s second album, released after the success of their self-titled debut, which earned them a Mercury price.
A few things bother me that I don’t remember thinking about before. Firstly, if we are being 100% honest, the singing is occasionally less than great. How are you off key when you’re practically just whispering? Also, both singers are English but somehow manage occasionally to sound foreign, maybe like they’re Spanish or Portuguese or something. But I guess that was how things were done back in the day, adding a touch of sexy mystery to your band by sounding a bit more ambiguous.
Despite that, it’d still be a little bit difficult not to feel something when listening to something like “Our Song”, “Angel” or “Missing”, and whatever they’re lacking in the vocals, they do manage to style it out pretty well. Listening to it, you can hear why Jamie xx went on to have such a successful career, too, as the production is fantastic. As far as the lyrics go, I’m currently too even keeled to really enjoy the songs about yearning in your early 20s and will leave that to the youths.
It’s not a stinker of an album by any measure, but it’s definitely something that I liked a whole lot more before. It might be that my tastes have changed so much, or maybe it’s a product of its time – somehow despite its minimalism, it really manages to show its age. Didn’t hate it, didn’t love it, I’m sure they have ones that are better. 7/10.