Word: Dai Man

XX is brilliant. And it’s more astonishing that it’s the debut offering from The xx. This effortlessly cool sound might take other bands years to perfect yet here is a band on their first release sounding like old pros. The music is deliberate and pared back, yet ever so intoxicating. The vocals, which jump backwards and forwards between boy and girl, float over the simple arrangements and tease with their infectious hooks. “I’m yours now, so I don’t ever have to leave,” they sing in Islands and whether they are singing to us, the listener, or to themselves is really quite irrelevant as the gentle boy/girl teasing captivates. Although not long out of high school Romy Croft and Oliver Sim are old friends and their chemistry is half of the power of the band, half of its charm. The other half is the beautifully studied minimalism of the music. Everything is pared down, yet charm oozes from every beat and every last whispered vocal. Take this with you into the night, for late, late in the day, it’s very cool.