The xx “Crystalised”/ “Stars”/ “Hot Like Fire (Aaliyah Cover)”
Any period between midnight and dawn is the best time to take a listen to The xx, a four-piece band out of the UK currently stirring up blog buzz thanks to their penchant for haunting boy/ girl hush-vocals and darkly-hewned rock arrangements that ooze vampiric sensuality.
On their seducing debut single “Crystalised”, dual leads Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft play out a tense exchange between lovers (“Do I have to keep up the pace/ To keep you satisfied?” she inquires; “Don’t think that I’m pushing you away/ When you’re the one that I’ve kept closest”, he reponds) as morse code basslines, flickering guitar strums and Halloween-esque sound effects construct an eerie nocturnal setting around them.
The xx – Crystalised from Young Turks on Vimeo.
It’s simultaneous gripping of twilight ambiance and accessible pop songform is entrancing, signalling a great introduction to their Cure-like style, but upon delving deeper into The xx’s heretofore catalogue, a far different source of inspiration comes to the forefront that really kicks their appeal up a notch.
Turns out the band hold a fondness for American R&B as well, and they geniously interweave that influence into their sound, whether it’s by adding their signature gloom to covers of Womack & Womack’s “Teardrops” and Aaliyah’s “Hot Like Fire” or borrowing lyrical chunks of old urban jams to help pad out their own original material, as they do when they cite an entire verse from Missy Elliott’s “All N My Grill” on the middle section of “Stars”.
Pick up the limited 7″ of “Crystalised” via Rough Trade. Look for an album sometime later this year.
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