So much hype! Can one ac-tually review the quality of a CD objectively over such… ‘accolades’ already given out hand over foot to these four 20 year olds from London who have self-produced their 1st CD? Hell, I’m willing to try.

Intro starts their musical venture sounding like, well, an intro into the soft, understated album “The XX” is. Even the band & CD name is understated.  They chose their name based on how its look typed out – supposedly the two X’s looked good together. Perhaps, but if your music’s not cutting it, I won’t be listening just to stare at your name (ironically the CD cover has only one `X` on it).

VCR is short and passes without much notice and the boy/girl vocals continue into their single Crystalized – where you realize there’s hope you just might not fall asleep listening to this cd.   At Islands, I have a short Blur flashback (woo! hoo!) but thankfully the track quickly evolves into its own – while retaining the consistently downplayed mood throughout.  The first track over 4min, Heart Skipped a Beat is an Islands extension – soft electro ambience with vocals in duet.  The XX will have your woofer up in arms on Fantasy, and from then on Shelter, Basic Space, and Infinity bring you back the same tame quiet monster until Night Time adds some funk and picks up the tempo.  ‘The XX’ ends around  37minutes later, just how it started, with Stars.

The vocal trade-off between Oliver Sim and Romy Madley-Croft work well.  If consistency & a chill sound is your spice of life, the XX will suit your food just fine.

They’re supporting Florence & the Machine in Europe before heading over to North American with Friendly Fires in Fall 2009. While this is nothing to shake a stick at, I’m not sure how their understated sound will translate on stage but I’m willing to give their deliberate subtleties a try.

DL Tracks: Night Time,  Basic Space