The xx

Twenty-year-olds aren't supposed to sound like this: this confident, this subtle, this sensual, this weary. Borrowing the pace from slowcore icons Low and an R&B rhythmic sensibility from electro-poppers Junior Boys, the London coed quartet turns spindly four-bar progressions swathed in reverb into minimalist pop that's alternately jewel-toned and charcoal-streaked. Breathy boy/girl vocals up the intimacy factor even as they dissipate into a world-weary haze, making this the perfect accompaniment for breakups and breakup sex alike.

Four pouty kids from South London, barely out of their teens, the xx see nothing wrong
with playing Timbaland or Jam and Lewis-style R&B with an indie band's chops. Singer Romy
Madley Croft sounds like she learned her heart-of-glass cool from Nineties soul starlets like
Aaliyah or Mya (the U.K. version of this album adds a cover of Aaliyah's "Hot Like Fire").
When Oliver Sim sings along on "Heart Skipped a Beat," the boy-girl vocals create... More >