xx (The xx album)
xx | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
West London) | ||||
Genre | ||||
Length | 38:34 | |||
Young Turks | ||||
Producer | Jamie Smith | |||
The xx chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from xx | ||||
|
xx is the debut
Along with the xx's early R&B influences, the album has drawn comparisons from journalists to alternative rock, electronica and post-punk sounds. Its largely melancholic songs feature minimalist arrangements built around Smith's beats and instrumental parts recorded by the other members of the band, including Oliver Sim's basslines and sparse guitar figures by Baria Qureshi and Romy Madley Croft, who employs reverb in her lead guitar playing. Most of the songs are sung as low-key duets by Croft and Sim, both of whom had written emotional lyrics about love, intimacy, loss and desire.
Released to widespread acclaim, xx was named one of 2009's best records and received praise for the band's atmospheric style of
Shortly after the album's release, and with differences between Qureshi and the rest of the group leading to her dismissal, the xx continued to play as a trio on a protracted concert tour that helped increase their fanbase, reputation in the press and confidence as performers. xx proved highly influential in subsequent years, as its distinctive stylistic elements were incorporated by many indie bands and top-selling pop acts. One of the most acclaimed records of its era, it has appeared on top album lists published by NME, Rolling Stone and The Guardian.
Background
While students at South London's
After posting the demos on their
Recording and production
At the behest of XL's owner
The xx started to record the album in December 2008 with McDonald, who
After all the instrumental elements had been tracked, Croft and Sim recorded their vocals together, rarely singing backup to one another on any of the songs. McDonald believed it was important for the singers to be "in sync" and share the same mental state or mood when performing full takes of songs, some of which he said benefited from when they were both "quite tired and emotional". He had Croft and Sim sing into Neumann microphones on most of the songs in order to make their vocals sound as "intimate" and conversational as possible. The microphones were among the more expensive items he borrowed for the studio's preliminary setup so XL would not be overwhelmed with a costly budget.[2]
Despite McDonald's close involvement, the xx had been encouraged to self-produce their album by Russell; he believed it would remain faithful to both the band's distinctive live sound and the
Most of xx was recorded from late December 2008 to late January 2009 before McDonald and Smith began an exhaustive mixing process, which lasted two weeks. For each song, they mixed one or two tracks of each instrument and used Waves Audio components to equalise the recordings. Having enjoyed how the demos captured unintended background noises such as street sounds, McDonald deliberately left certain sounds that would have otherwise been unwanted in the final mix. "I wanted it to sound like people in a room, rather than this polished kind of perfect crystalline thing", he explained. "It was all the small details that we really liked."[2]
In February 2009, the group wrote and recorded "Fantasy", "Shelter" and "Infinity" before finishing xx, possibly by month's end according to McDonald; the album's liner notes credited the final date of recording as April.[11] Sim sang his vocals for "Infinity" on the side of the studio opposite from Croft after his microphone had been unintentionally moved there, which resulted in a distant-sounding vocal exchange on the song. While recording "Shelter", a mechanical part from the guitar amplifier loosened and caused it to make a clattering sound, which McDonald and the xx chose to retain. "It was just like this missing piece of percussion that the track needed!", McDonald recalled.[2]
Music
The songs on xx are composed around a framework of basslines and beats, while incorporating simple guitar riffs for melody, rhythm and
While McDonald observes a predominant R&B element, Russell feels the xx's music evokes the early hip hop records he listened to when he was young, as they are often limited to vocals, samples and beats.[2] Music journalists, however, infer from xx that their influences are alternative rock acts such as Portishead, Young Marble Giants and Cocteau Twins, the last of which Croft said she had never heard before the album was released.[1] The Scotsman describes xx as a minimalist, melancholic indie pop record that draws on elements from electronica and R&B, as well as The Cure and other alternative groups.[18] According to Sarah Boden of The Observer, the album's unadorned, dream pop love songs are reminiscent of Cocteau Twins and Mazzy Star, because they feature low tempos, moody melodies and rhythms influenced by R&B and dubstep.[19] Their arrangements have what Neil McCormick calls "a very British, industrial aspect", somewhat similar to the dub-inflected post-punk sound of the English producer Martin Hannett and his work with the band Joy Division.[1] Both Croft and Sim said their combination of seemingly disparate influences could be attributed to the variety in each band member's music collection.[20]
Lyrics
On xx, Croft and Sim touch on themes of love, desire and loss in their songwriting, which Croft said has "always been based around emotions, right from the start. My favourite songs are usually quite sad and I think heartbreak is something that so many people can connect with."[7] Like Croft, Sim said he wrote much of his lyrics at night when his emotions ran "a bit higher".[21] Because of their reserved personalities, Robert Christgau believes they rely on a low-key, vulnerable style and exchange "ideas about intimacy as contemporaries, comrades, prospects, lovers, ex-lovers and friends".[22] According to NME magazine's Emily Mackay, all of the songs deal with the consuming emotions associated with first love, including the tacit intimacy on "VCR", the yearning expressed on "Heart Skipped a Beat" and the premature affection warned of on "Crystalised".[23] Petra Davis from The Quietus argues that the thematic crux of xx is in the succession of songs from "Islands" to "Shelter", each of which sees "a radical shift in perspective on a similar – perhaps a single – love story."[24]
The album's
Marketing
"Crystalised" was released as the xx's debut single on 27 April 2009 and helped build interest in the band among listeners and journalists.[29] It was part of a series of singles from xx, which included "Basic Space" on 3 August, "Islands" on 26 October and "VCR" on 25 January 2010.[30] The band's music was largely ignored by BBC Radio 1 in the United Kingdom, and other major media outlets also believed they did not warrant strong attention; one editor from NME said at the time that the band was not ideal for their magazine's front cover.[31] In the United States, the group benefited from the word-of-mouth marketing of blogs, beginning when they performed six consecutive sold-out shows at New York City clubs such as Pianos and the Mercury Lounge months prior to the album's release.[32]
Several of the songs from xx were licensed by XL to television programmes in the UK and North America. "Intro" became widely used as theme music in television, including sports highlights, episodes of series such as Law & Order and Cold Case, an advertisement for AT&T and BBC's coverage of the 2010 British general election.[33] Along with their placement in television, songs from the record were used by North American chain stores such as Starbucks and Urban Outfitters as background music at their locations.[32] According to McCormick in 2010, these marketing strategies helped the xx develop enough media presence to garner "over half a million sales around the world without ever having anything as vulgar as a hit".[1] Kris Chen, XL's A&R senior vice-president, believed the exposure was desired and necessary for promoting an album that was not "driven by pop radio".[32] Although the band realised their music had to be marketed somehow, Croft expressed reservations about "putting our music on everything, just to put it to anything just for the sake of money".[34]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 8.1/10[35] |
Metacritic | 87/100[36] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [37] |
The A.V. Club | A[14] |
The Daily Telegraph | [38] |
The Guardian | [39] |
The Irish Times | [40] |
MSN Music (Consumer Guide) | A[41] |
NME | 8/10[23] |
Pitchfork | 8.7/10[42] |
Rolling Stone | [43] |
The Sunday Times | [44] |
xx was released by Young Turks in August 2009 to widespread critical acclaim.[1] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 87, based on 25 reviews.[36] According to Alexis Petridis, it was the most acclaimed album of the year.[27]
Critics particularly praised the xx's sound on the album; Simon Price wrote in The Independent that they were being universally lauded for their "atmospheric indie rock, and rightly so".[45] The Daily Telegraph's Jack Arnhold regarded xx as "one of this year's most beautiful and original debut albums".[38] Reviewing for The New Yorker, Sasha Frere-Jones remarked that the album rewards repeated listens because of the band's disciplined playing, while Mark Edwards of The Sunday Times said it succeeds with simple but "very near perfect" pop songs.[46] AllMusic's Heather Phares called the instrumentation impeccable and was impressed by how poised and refined such a young group sounds.[37] In The Irish Times, Jim Carroll said the exceptional chemistry behind Croft and Sim's melancholic duets is the highlight of "this drop-dead gorgeous dream-pop symphony".[40] Matthew Cole from Slant Magazine believed their rapport gives an emotional weight to the music, which he said sounds timeless and capable of appealing to both indie and popular tastes.[13] Christgau, writing in MSN Music, was somewhat more impressed by the music than by the lyrics, although he said the underlying force behind the singers' charmingly minimalist songs is a "spiritual dimension" offered by their ability to "shift roles without ever seeming hostile, cold or even unsupportive".[47]
Some reviewers had reservations. Jon Caramanica of
At the end of 2009, xx appeared on several critics' lists of the year's best albums, including rankings of ninth by Rolling Stone, sixth by Uncut, third by Pitchfork, second by NME and fourth by the Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot.[50] The Guardian named it the year's best record in their annual critics poll and Tim Jonze, the newspaper's editor, hailed it as not only "the sound of 2009, [but also] a distinctive musical statement of the like we may never get to hear again".[51] It also finished seventh in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll of American critics and third in HMV's Poll of Polls, an annual list compiled by the British music retailer HMV and collated from best-album nominations made by journalists in the English and Irish music press.[52] In decade-end lists of the greatest records from the 2000s, The Sunday Times and its sister paper, The Times, ranked xx seventy-seventh and thirtieth, respectively.[53] The record was also included in the 2010 edition of Robert Dimery's music reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[54]
Sales and legacy
xx was not an immediate
By December 2010, xx had sold 325,000 copies in the UK and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.[31] In the US, the album reached 350,000 copies sold by June 2012 with consistent weekly sales during its first two years of release, which Time magazine's Melissa Locker said was "quite a feat" in an era of music piracy, media streaming and YouTube.[60] Adding to its commercial success, songs from the album were covered by a variety of major recording artists, including Shakira, Gorillaz and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.[31]
The xx's self-titled debut remains one of the great sleeper hits of the last decade. No one – including, it’s fair to say, the xx themselves – expected that their murmuring blend of turn-of-the-millennium R&B and C86 indie pop would go on to sell a million copies and become hugely influential.
Although xx had been highly anticipated by XL, the album's success exceeded expectations in the press.[2] McDonald said their direction and sound would have been entirely different had expectations been higher, while Croft was "baffled" by the acclaim given to what she viewed as an album they had made "for themselves".[62] Sim had mixed feelings about its success, believing it could affect his songwriting in the future: "This album was done with no expectations. No one knew who we were. When I was writing the songs, I didn't think anyone other than Romy or James would ever actually hear them. Now I know so many people will. I might feel I have to be a bit more private."[27]
At the Mercury Prize ceremony, Sim said the time since the album's release had "felt like a haze", but that the event served as "a moment of clarity".[59] In their acceptance speech, the xx announced they would use the £20,000 prize money to build their own studio, where they subsequently wrote and recorded their second album Coexist.[63] When Coexist debuted in September 2012, xx was still on the British chart at number 37 and had sold 446,734 copies in the UK.[64] The following year, it was ranked number 237 on NME's list of the top 500 albums of all time and named the 74th greatest debut record by Rolling Stone, who found its music radical as "an exercise in restraint, in the artful use of space and silence" during popular music's period of maximalism.[65]
In subsequent years, xx proved highly influential as many indie bands and mainstream pop acts incorporated the record's distinctive musical characteristics into their own songs. Petridis later wrote that to his surprise much of 2016's best-selling singles "sounded oddly but irrefutably" like the album: "You can hear its muted, echoing guitars on everything from the Chainsmokers' 'Don't Let Me Down' to Shawn Mendes' 'Stitches' to Zara Larsson's 'Lush Life'." Ryan Tedder, who wrote hit songs for such top-selling singers as Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande, said the xx's "hauntingness" on the record "gets referenced in at least every other [writing] session".[66]
By January 2017, xx had reached 562,400 copies sold in the UK, and in September 2019, its sales there were reported at 612,000.
Touring
After xx was released, the xx toured Europe and North America through the end of 2009.[69] Their first show in August was at Hoxton Hall in London, which Sim recalled was attended by only 112 people.[70] When Pitchfork's positive review of the album elicited greater interest among American listeners, the xx were booked as the supporting act for the Friendly Fires's tour of larger club venues in the US.[32] The difficulties of touring early on exacerbated the growing tensions between Qureshi and the rest of the group, which culminated in her dismissal after a difficult stay at an October music festival in New York.[71] It was reported that she had become fatigued and left the group after they cancelled several concerts.[69] Sim disputed those reports and said her departure had been the band's decision: "We've grown up to be very different people. It wasn't working any more musically or as a friendship."[72] Croft told NME in November, "I guess 'personal differences' would be the standard way to say it. I guess it's just the intensity of being on tour, things are so much heightened."[69]
Rather than find a replacement for Qureshi, the xx continued to tour as a smaller line-up of guitar, bass and percussion. They also reduced their already minimalist arrangements for songs in concert, although Sim jokingly said Smith "needs another few arms so he can work everything" after Qureshi's departure.
With a growing fanbase, the xx made commitments to more concerts and extended their tour for the album. They toured intermittently for 18 months, including most of 2010. That year, they embarked on their first US tour and played high-profile festivals such as
By touring frequently, the xx broadened their reputation among listeners and the press. In March 2010, they played two consecutive nights at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London to capacity crowds and appeared on the cover of NME, who proclaimed them "the most underrated band in Britain".[31] In April and May, they toured the southern US and Japan, which Croft said was most demanding part of the tour because "none of us had been away from home continuously for so long." They were accompanied during this six-week period by the photographer Jamie-James Medina, who later published his photos of the group in his book The Tourist (2010).[70]
While on tour, the xx acclimated themselves to the increased attention and became considerably more sociable and confident. As Sim recounted, "If you'd have put me onstage at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire a few years ago, I'd have run away. I couldn't have done it. We used to be terrified."[21] In June 2010, the band played the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset and, according to the journalist Jude Rogers, displayed a newfound confidence through the rest of their summer and "post-Mercury [Prize] autumn" concerts: "Croft would sing more boldly, Sim developed an onstage swagger and Smith began experimenting with different rhythms and textures."[31]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft, except where noted; all music is composed by Baria Qureshi, Jamie Smith, Sim and Croft, except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" | 2:07 |
2. | "VCR" | 2:57 |
3. | "Crystalised" | 3:21 |
4. | "Islands" | 2:40 |
5. | "Heart Skipped a Beat" | 4:02 |
6. | "Fantasy" (lyrics by Sim) | 2:38 |
7. | "Shelter" (lyrics by Croft; music by Smith, Sim and Croft) | 4:30 |
8. | "Basic Space" | 3:08 |
9. | "Infinity" | 5:13 |
10. | "Night Time" | 3:36 |
11. | "Stars" | 4:22 |
Total length: | 38:34 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "Hot Like Fire" (Aaliyah cover) | 3:31 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "VCR" (Matthew Dear Remix) | 4:54 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Do You Mind?" (Kyla cover) | 3:47 |
2. | "Hot Like Fire" (Aaliyah cover) | 3:34 |
3. | "Teardrops" (Womack & Womack cover) | 3:50 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" | 2:07 |
2. | "VCR" | 2:57 |
3. | "Crystalised" | 3:21 |
4. | "Islands" | 2:40 |
5. | "Heart Skipped a Beat" | 4:02 |
6. | "Hot Like Fire" (Aaliyah cover) | 3:31 |
7. | "Fantasy" | 2:38 |
8. | "Shelter" | 4:30 |
9. | "Basic Space" | 3:08 |
10. | "Infinity" | 5:13 |
11. | "Night Time" | 3:36 |
12. | "Stars" | 4:22 |
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[80]
The xx
- Romy Madley Croft – guitar, vocals
- Oliver Sim – bass, vocals
- MPC, production, mixing
- Baria Qureshi – keyboards, guitar
- The xx – photography, design
Additional personnel
- Rodaidh McDonald – mixing, engineering
- Nilesh Patel – mastering
- Phil Lee – art direction, design
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[97] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Belgium (BEA)[98] | Gold | 15,000* |
Canada (Music Canada)[99] | Platinum | 80,000‡ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[100] | Platinum | 20,000‡ |
Germany (BVMI)[101] | Gold | 100,000^ |
Italy (FIMI)[102] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[103] | 2× Platinum | 612,000[104] |
United States (RIAA)[105] | Gold | 350,000[106] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
Region | Date |
---|---|
Australia[107] | 14 August 2009 |
Germany[108] | |
Ireland[109] | |
United Kingdom[48] | 17 August 2009 |
United States[48] | 6 October 2009 |
See also
- List of Irish Independent Albums Chart number-one albums of 2010
- List of number-one hits of 2010 (France)
- List of UK Indie Chart number-one albums of 2010
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l McCormick 2010a.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Frost 2011.
- ^ Jones 2010; Murray 2009.
- ^ McCormick 2010a; Frost 2011.
- ^ Saxelby 2009; Frost 2011.
- ^ Frost 2011; Lindsay 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Lindsay 2009.
- ^ Saxelby 2009.
- ^ Frost 2011; Jones 2010.
- ^ Lindsay 2009; Jones 2010.
- ^ Frost 2011; Anon. 2009d.
- ^ Park 2009.
- ^ a b Cole 2009.
- ^ a b Rizov 2010.
- ^ Christgau 2009a; McCormick 2010a.
- ^ Frere-Jones 2010.
- ^ a b Caramanica 2009, p. C4.
- ^ a b c Anon. 2010a.
- ^ Boden 2009, p. 41.
- ^ Jones 2010; McCormick 2010a.
- ^ a b Curran 2010.
- ^ Christgau 2009a; Christgau 2009b.
- ^ a b Mackay 2009.
- ^ Davis 2009.
- ^ Sherburne 2009, p. 88.
- ^ a b Colapinto 2014.
- ^ a b c Petridis 2010, p. 36.
- ^ Petridis 2010, p. 36; Colapinto 2014.
- ^ Monger n.d.; Anon.(a) n.d..
- ^ Murray 2009; Anon.(b) n.d.; Anon.(c) n.d.; Anon.(d) n.d..
- ^ a b c d e Rogers 2010.
- ^ a b c d Peters 2010, p. 35.
- ^ McCormick 2010a; Jones 2010.
- ^ Jones 2010.
- ^ Anon.(e) n.d.
- ^ a b Anon.(f) n.d.
- ^ a b Phares n.d.
- ^ a b Arnhold 2009.
- ^ Simpson 2009, p. 9.
- ^ a b Carroll 2009.
- ^ Christgau 2009b.
- ^ Gaerig 2009.
- ^ Sheffield 2009.
- ^ Edwards 2009.
- ^ Lindsay 2009; Price 2009.
- ^ Frere-Jones 2010; Edwards 2009.
- ^ Christgau 2009b; Christgau 2009a.
- ^ a b c Schumer 2009.
- ^ Errett 2009.
- ^ Anon. 2010b.
- ^ Jonze 2009.
- ^ Anon.(g) n.d.; Anon. 2009a.
- ^ Anon. 2009b; Anon. 2009c.
- ^ Dimery 2010.
- ^ McCormick 2010a; Reed & Rodman 2012.
- ^ Jones 2012; McCormick 2010a.
- ^ Anon. 2010c; Anon. 2010d; McCormick 2010a.
- ^ Anon. 2010c; Jones 2012.
- ^ a b McCormick 2010b.
- ^ Lipshutz 2012; Locker 2012.
- ^ Richardson 2017.
- ^ Frost 2011; Rogers 2010.
- ^ Cochrane 2012.
- ^ Jones 2012.
- ^ Kaye 2013; Anon. 2013.
- ^ Petridis 2017.
- ^ Jones 2017; Copsey 2019.
- ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Snapes & Curtin 2019.
- ^ a b c Murray 2009.
- ^ a b Lamont 2010, p. 12.
- ^ Colapinto 2014; Lamont 2012, p. 23.
- ^ Jones 2010; Kot 2010.
- ^ McCormick 2010a; Murray 2009.
- ^ McCormick 2010a; Rogers 2010.
- ^ Lamont 2010, p. 12; Lamont 2012, p. 23; Jones 2010; Monger n.d..
- ^ Anon.(h) n.d.
- ^ Anon. 2010e.
- ^ Anon.(i) n.d.
- ^ Anon.(j) n.d.
- ^ Anon. 2009d.
- ^ a b Anon.(l) n.d.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Anon.(k) n.d.
- ^ Anon. 2010c.
- ^ Anon.(q) n.d.
- ^ Anon.(m) n.d.
- ^ Anon. 2010f, p. 26.
- ^ Anon.(n) n.d.
- ^ Anon.(o) n.d.
- ^ Anon.(p) n.d.
- ^ Anon.(r) n.d.
- ^ Anon.(s) n.d.
- ^ Anon. 2010h.
- ^ Anon.(v) n.d.
- ^ Anon.(t) n.d.
- ^ Anon. 2010g.
- ^ Anon.(u) n.d.
- ^ Anon. 2011.
- ^ Anon.(w) n.d.
- ^ Anon.(ee) n.d.
- ^ Anon.(x) n.d.
- ^ Anon.(y) n.d.
- ^ "Italian album certifications – The xx – xx" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 29 August 2022. Select "2022" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "xx" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
- ^ Anon.(z) n.d.
- ^ Copsey 2019.
- ^ Anon.(aa) n.d.
- ^ Lipshutz 2012.
- ^ Anon.(bb) n.d.
- ^ Anon.(cc) n.d.
- ^ Anon.(dd) n.d.
Bibliography
- Anon. (27 December 2009). "Animal Collective Top HMV's Annual Poll of Polls". Hot Press. Dublin. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- Anon. (21 November 2009). "The 100 Best Pop Albums of the Noughties". The Times. London. Retrieved 16 April 2015. (subscription required)
- Anon. (13 December 2009). "Top 30 Albums of the 2000s". The Sunday Times. London.
- Anon. (2009). xx (CD liner notes). Young Turks. YT031.
- Anon. (5 March 2010). "Interview: The xx – xx Make Their Mark with XL Records". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- Anon. (2010). "Best Albums of 2009". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 7 February 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
- Anon. (13 September 2010). "X Factor and xx Impact the Charts". Music Week. London. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- Anon. (26 July 2010). "Eminem Leads Hip Hop Double". Music Week. London. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- Anon. (12 January 2010). "Win Deluxe Vinyl Edition of xx". Fact. London. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- Anon. (2010). "European Top 20 Charts – Week Commencing 20th September 2010" (PDF). The ARIA Report (1073). Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Anon. (2010). "Year End Charts – European Top 100 Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- Anon. (2010). "Year End Charts – Independent Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
- Anon. (31 December 2011). "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2011 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 29 September 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Anon. (22 March 2013). "'xx' - The 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; Snapes, Laura; Curtin, April (13 September 2019). "The 100 Best Albums of the 21st Century". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- Anon.[a] (n.d.). "The xx – Crystalised". Young Turks. Archived from the originalon 29 June 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- Anon.[b] (n.d.). "The xx – Basic Space". Young Turks. Archived from the original on 29 June 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- Anon.[c] (n.d.). "The xx – Is lands". Young Turks. Archived from the original on 29 June 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- Anon.[d] (n.d.). "The xx – VCR". Young Turks. Archived from the original on 29 June 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- Anon.[e] (n.d.). "XX by The xx reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
- Anon.[f] (n.d.). "Reviews for xx by The xx". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- Anon.[g] (n.d.). "New York Pazz and Jop Albums". The Village Voice. New York. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
- Anon.[h] (n.d.). "xx by The xx". iTunes Store. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- Anon.[i] (n.d.). "xx – The xx — Release Information, Reviews and Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- Anon.[j] (n.d.). "xx: xx [Vinyl]". Amazon. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- Anon.[k] (n.d.). "The xx – xx". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Anon.[l] (n.d.). "The xx – Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Anon.[m] (n.d.). "综合榜 2014年 第18周" [Comprehensive Chart – Year 2014 Week 18] (in Chinese). Sino Chart. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Anon.[n] (n.d.). "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 9 September 2010". Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the originalon 19 December 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Anon.[o] (n.d.). "Top 10 Independent Artist Albums, Week Ending 9 September 2010". Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- Anon.[p] (n.d.). "2010–09–18 Top 40 Scottish Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Anon.[q] (n.d.). "2010–10–09 Top 40 Independent Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Anon.[r] (n.d.). "Jaaroverzichten 2009" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 17 January 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Anon.[s] (n.d.). "Top Albums annuel (physique + téléchargement + streaming)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archivedfrom the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
- Anon.[t] (n.d.). "Jaaroverzichten 2010" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Anon.[u] (n.d.). "Classement Albums – Année 2010" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Anon.[v] (n.d.). "Top 40 UK Albums of 2010". BBC Radio 1. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Anon.[w] (n.d.). "Goud en Platina – 2010" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Anon.[x] (n.d.). "The xx 'xx'" (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- Anon.[y] (n.d.). "Gold–/Platin–Datenbank (The xx)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Anon.[z] (n.d.). "British Album Certifications – The xx – xx". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 February 2020. Enter The xx in the field Search. Select Artist in the field Search by. Click Search.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - Anon.[aa] (n.d.). "American Album Certifications – The xx – xx". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 28 August 2014. If necessary, click Advanced Search, then click the Title field, then type xx, then click Search.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - Anon.[bb] (n.d.). "XX". JB Hi-Fi. Archived from the original on 24 May 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- Anon.[cc] (n.d.). "xx – CD" (in German). Musicline.de. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- Anon.[dd] (n.d.). "xx – xx". Tower Records Ireland. Archived from the original on 24 May 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- Anon.[ee] (n.d.). "Canadian album certifications – The xx – xx". Music Canada. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- Arnhold, Jack (13 August 2009). "Young Turks: The xx, CD review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- Boden, Sarah (11 July 2009). "CD: Pop review: The xx, xx". The Observer. London. Observer Music Monthly section. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- Caramanica, Jon (12 October 2009). "Critics' Choice – New CDs". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
- Carroll, Jim (7 August 2009). "Rock/Pop". The Irish Times. Dublin. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- Christgau, Robert (8 December 2009). "The xx: Switching Roles in Song". NPR. Archived from the original on 6 July 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
- Christgau, Robert (December 2009). "Consumer Guide". MSN Music. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- Cochrane, Greg (3 September 2012). "The xx: We're in Our Favourite Band Now". BBC Newsbeat. Archived from the original on 20 November 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- Colapinto, John (30 June 2014). "Shy and Mighty". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- Cole, Matthew (2 October 2009). "The xx: xx". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- Copsey, Rob (19 September 2019). "The biggest selling Mercury Prize-winning albums revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- Curran, Shaun (7 May 2010). "Isolation Brings The xx Out to the World". The Japan Times. Tokyo. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- Davis, Petra (14 August 2009). "The xx". The Quietus. Archived from the original on 28 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Dimery, Robert, ed. (2010). ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
- Edwards, Mark (16 August 2009). "The xx: xx Review". The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 14 August 2014. (subscription required)
- Errett, Joshua (4 November 2009). "The xx". Now. Toronto. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- Frere-Jones, Sasha (25 January 2010). "Closer". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Frost, Matt (July 2011). "Rodaidh McDonald: Recording The xx". Sound on Sound. Cambridge. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
- Gaerig, Andrew (28 August 2009). "The xx: xx". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
- Jones, Alan (17 September 2012). "Official Charts Analysis: The xx's Coexist Sells 58k". Music Week. London. Retrieved 24 July 2014. (subscription required)
- Jones, Alan (20 January 2017). "Official Charts Analysis: The xx Claim No.1 Spot with Third Album I See You". Music Week. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
- Jones, Douglas (9 April 2010). "Young and Modern: Introducing the xx". CNN. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- Jonze, Tim (18 December 2009). "Albums of 2009, No 1: The xx – xx". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
- Kaye, Ben (25 October 2013). "The Top 500 Albums of All Time, according to NME". Consequence of Sound. Archivedfrom the original on 18 January 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- Kot, Greg (2 April 2010). "British Buzz Band the xx Speaks". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Lamont, Tom (4 December 2010). "The xx: The Band with the World at Their Feet". The Observer. London. The New Review section. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- Lamont, Tom (1 September 2012). "The xx: 'It's abnormal for bands to share so much'". The Observer. London. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- Lindsay, Cam (November 2009). "The Nocturnal Emissions of the xx". Exclaim!. Toronto. Archived from the original on 18 April 2014.
- Lipshutz, Jason (1 June 2012). "The xx Announce New Album, 'Coexist'". Billboard. New York. Archived from the original on 21 September 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- Locker, Melissa (5 September 2012). "The xx Take Risks, Succeed on Coexist". Time. New York. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- Mackay, Emily (11 August 2009). "Album review: The xx – 'The xx'". NME. London. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- McCormick, Neil (21 July 2010). "The xx: Never Heard of Them? Actually, You Have". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- McCormick, Neil (8 September 2010). "The xx: Making a Big Noise Is Not Their Style". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- Monger, James Christopher (n.d.). "The xx". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 23 August 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
- Murray, Robin (13 November 2009). "Guitarist Departs The xx". Clash. London. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- Park, Dave (12 August 2009). "Album Review: The xx – xx". Prefix. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- Peters, Mitchell (9 January 2010). "The XX Factor". Billboard. New York. Retrieved 23 September 2015 – via Google Books.
- Petridis, Alexis (9 April 2010). "The xx: 'We're very keen not to be... flash'". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- Petridis, Alexis (12 January 2017). "The xx: I See You review – stepping out of their own shadow". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 17 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- Phares, Heather (n.d.). "xx – The xx". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- Price, Simon (15 August 2009). "Album: The XX, XX (Young Turks/XL)". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- Reed, James; Rodman, Sarah (8 September 2012). "Critic's Picks: Albums". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- Richardson, Mark (12 January 2017). "The xx: I See You Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- Rizov, Vadim (5 January 2010). "The xx: xx". The A.V. Club. Chicago. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- Rogers, Jude (29 December 2010). "The Sound of Shyness". New Statesman. London. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- Saxelby, Ruth (14 July 2009). "The xx: 'It started as a joke.'". Dummy. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- Schumer, Ben (7 October 2009). "The xx: xx". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 10 February 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- Sheffield, Rob (13 October 2009). "The xx". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on 19 October 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- Sherburne, Philip (December 2009). "Reviews". Spin. 25 (12). New York. Retrieved 14 August 2014 – via Google Books.
- Simpson, Dave (13 August 2009). "The xx: 'xx'". The Guardian. London. Film & music section. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
Further reading
- Medina, Jamie-James (4 December 2010). "Around the World with the xx – Britain's Hottest Band". The Observer. London.
- Mendelsohn, Jason; Klinger, Eric (2016). "Counterbalance: The xx - 'xx'". PopMatters.
- Rogers, Jude (13 August 2009). "xx – A Teen Band with a Difference". The Guardian. London. Film & music section.
External links