the xx | album review

I really can't say anything that hasn't been said about these guys. They're the hottest new thing out of London. They've all only just turned 20 years old. They're seemingly the greatest indie wunderkinds since the Strokes almost a decade ago now. They've been featured everywhere from being named "Best New Music" on Pitchfork, to freakin' sports-centric ESPN. They're the xx (not "double x," just "ex ex").

So I'm not gonna bore you with details about the group. They're young, they're awesome, wise and talented beyond their years, blah blah blah. Guess what? It all comes down to sex appeal, believe it or not. I've been quite averse and wary of the hype surrounding the group for months now, so articles I've read on them are few and far between. The sex appeal may have very well been mentioned (I know for a fact it has on Pitchfork's review, with the site stating that the songs are "mostly about sex"), but maybe moreso as a side effect, than the actual cause of their overall appeal.

Romy Madley Croft, one half of the guy-girl vocalists in the xx, shines as an uninteresting (uninterested?) and disaffected vocalist, flipping between sorry and flirty. She's the mood-swinging girlfriend, who loves you and lusts for you one day, and she's an emotional and apologizing wreck the next. The songs are all so minimal that the vocals are predominant enough so as to give the impression you've simply got the TV turned on to "The OC," but you're in another room. Basically, all you're getting is the dialogue from the show, with some moody music. That's about the easiest way to sum the xx up.

Is that meant disparagingly? Not in the least. I love these guys. Just absolutely head over heels for them. Yes, I was totally wary of the hype in the beginning. Didn't even bother reading the whole review on Pitchfork I don't think. I was sick of hearing that a bunch of minimalist teens were the big thing right now, especially after a summer plagued by minimalist crap being hyped far beyond its expiry date. The problem with all that crap though? The lo-fi aesthetic that seems so necessary nowadays. Barely-heard lyrics. Fuzzed-out guitars. Short and spurt-ish blasts that are gone before you can truly squeeze all the joy out of them.

The greatest thing about the xx? You guessed it: none of the above. When I finally got on their good side, it was from listening to "Heart Skips A Beat" on hypem's Top 20, and then going to the blog featuring that one and hearing "Islands" and "VCR," loving all three. The songs are unequivocally crisp-sounding, the lyrics almost-whispered in many instances, but clearly heard. The guitars and bass are by turns jangling and mood-setting. Aside from the instrumental intro, not a song below 2:30. It's just an impossibly and impeccably good album, especially for a debut, and especially for the age of the curators and performers.

Back to that sex appeal though. It's just oozing here, and it's not in the subtle and sultry ways that older and more mature bands dabble in. This foursome is all about getting it right now, in the most direct way possible. "If you want me/Let me know" is the sentiment echoed so straightforwardly on the most back-and-forth exchange on the disc, "Stars." I read that the xx are influenced by R&B. I unfailingly am unable to pick out hip-hop and R&B when it comes to any form of rock; it all just sounds like good rock music to me, so hell if I think the xx sound like R&B. But I do know nothing makes for betting make-out sessions than throwing on some heartfelt R&B ballads. These kids seem to take that one step further, fleshing out the physical experience over 11 tracks and 38 minutes. It's bedroom rock, if ever such a thing existed.

It's going to be extremely interesting to see where these guys take it from here. They could implode from the pressures and hype and never make another album, let alone one approaching the likable qualities of their eponymous debut. They could add more members, a string section, some industry all-stars, and end up playing the kind of all-encompassing and seizing music that a collective like Broken Social Scene does so effectively. They certainly have the right mindset for that kind of music, and their current tracks certainly have enough quiet space for that kind of arrangement to bring out that little extra in the music.

Final verdict? This may not be a completely awe-inspiring album, or even on the level of some of my favorites. But it's a fun album, in more ways than one. You can throw it on at any time during the day...though it works best at night, whether by yourself and feeling a little lonesome and appreciative of the night, or for those fun nights when you might have someone else with you filling up that lonely space.

Song recommendations? Too many to make. I already mentioned attention-getters "Islands," "VCR" and "Heart Skipped A Beat," but there is actually not one bad song on the album. I mean that. "Basic Space" and "Crystalised" are actually the xx's two singles out right now, and I didn't even mention them yet. That's five really solid tracks up front. I'm on my ninth listen of the album in three days, and nothing's lost its replay value. I mean, just get out and get the whole thing, you can't go wrong. If you're not convinced though, here's the track I initially fell in love with, alongside another standout:

The xx - Islands

The xx - Heart Skips A Beat

what is that song?

Hopefully the post's title doesn't become a long-running gimmick - I hate not knowing what a piece of music is if I like it. This post however stems from a shopping trip to American Eagle (don't worry, I didn't buy anything) last weekend. It really serves two purposes that I'll elaborate on: 1.) the commercialization of indie music 2.) Wolf Parade

We'll get to Wolf Parade first, as it's ostensibly the easier issue to tackle. The Montreal group, fronted by now-one half of Handsome Furs (looked at here on WNTY here, here and here), Dan Boeckner, and now-Sunset Rubdown band leader (featured here), Spencer Krug, has been around long enough that it's one of those other groups I regret not getting into earlier. I've certainly tried to keep abreast of Handsome Furs and Sunset Rubdown since discovering them, but Wolf Parade's back-catalog is only something I've dabbled in conservatively. Again: mistake.

Wolf Parade is evidently the more exciting, engaging, alt-rock-centric precursor to both (major) offshoot groups it spawned. They mix Spencer and Dan's vocals interchangeably, and it's amazing how two people who are so outwardly different can have two similar and equally pained-sounding voices. When listening to a Handsome Furs or Sunset Rubdown album, it can get tiresome listening to each guy holding his own for a full length, but interspersed with each other, it becomes much more bearable, and even inviting to listen to. It's also striking how aside from slow marches like "Dinner Bells," Wolf Parade is able to consistently contrast the guys' dullish voices with such upbeat instrumentation.

Anyways, I've known about Wolf Parade for over a year now, but I have to admit to just listening to their debut album, Apologies To The Queen Mary this morning. How I got around to that however is where the story lies. Chilling at American Eagle on a shopping trip, I was greeted with the sounds of Spoon and other indie legends, as well as a few up-and-comers I all recognized. That is, until a certain song came on, and the voice sounded extremely familiar, though the song did not. I knew it wasn't Interpol, though the sadness in the voice echoed lead singer Paul Banks' delivery - and of course Joy Division's Ian Curtis if we're playing that game.

Now, most people who I really like, I can pick out their music quite adeptly if I've heard enough of it. Given that I've heard three album's worth of Dan and Spencer's music away from Wolf Parade, it was a bit disheartening that I had to wait for the TV screen announcing American Eagle's playlist to tell me that I was, in fact, listening to "Shine A Light" by Wolf Parade. Upon realizing it was a Wolf Parade song, I was instantly struck by the catchiness and pure feeling captured in the song, even over the speakers at a retail outlet. Now, Handsome Furs and Sunset Rubdown both feature their own share of emotion, but it's sometimes convoluted, and in Sunset Rubdown's case, downright weird and indecipherable. Wolf Parade offered something more palatable, accessible, and ultimately, pop-ish.

(This is the part where I post my own mp3 link, or one from hypem, but as luck would have it, basically every single one of Wolf Parade's songs has been removed from hypem's database, which means Wolf Parade really doesn't want their music being shared that way...regardless, below is a link I got through hypem from a post on hearya.com, so credit goes to them)

Wolf Parade - Shine A Light

Now the second issue at hand. The commercialization and mainstreaming of indie. I'll keep this as short and sweet as possible, though an entire essay could easily be written about the topic. Kids, teens, young adults, and even twentysomethings tend to love indie music. They also tend to shop at the same stores. Maybe it's just that I heard Wolf Parade playing in an American Eagle, which is the poster-store for largely dressing like a trust-fund douchebag, even though you may not be anywhere near that well-off. (Full disclosure: Yes, I have pieces of clothing from American Eagle. I certainly don't shop there regularly though, and I have a certain self-consciousness about me when I am looking for clothes there.)

Back to the music however. It makes perfect sense to play music that your shoppers would like. But when you think about the kind of aesthetic and corporate image American Eagle has, it would seem that getting played there would fulfill every criteria of "selling out," whether by the band's design or not. Where, especially in a realm like indie culture, selling out and authenticity are always at the helm of current issues, you have to consider being irked a little bit by the whole thing. "Indie" itself is derived from "independent," as in the record labels that went their own way and did their own thing, instead of following suit (and suits) with the major record labels. Such a fierce and ingrained sense of independence breeds a mistrust for mainstreaming and selling out, while maintaining an undeniable emphasis on authenticity. Plainly and simply, it just doesn't feel authentic for American Eagle to play Wolf Parade.

Whether or not that's a harsh criticism of American Eagle is up to the individual, but take it for what you will. But like any other company, it will cater to what the majority wants, and that requires constantly changing your stance on something. Indie is "in" right now. If country somehow made a huge leap to the mainstream and dominated in sectors like indie is doing currently, I'm sure American Eagle would be playing the hell out of that too. But for now, indie feels like it's mine and ours, so when you see corporations pimping it out, you have to take it a little personally.

That being said, all thanks to American Eagle for playing that Wolf Parade track and igniting an interest in me for them. So what am I trying to say here? I don't know.