xx

Not bad, but I couldn't sustain my interest. The male/female vocals got annoying after a while.

Intro led me to believe that this album is more than what is actually is: boring indie pop.

The way that the two singers pronounce words annoys the crap out of me. They don't pronounce their Ts or Ds enough and they end up coming out as this annoying "ts" or "dz" sound every time in words like "daytime," which they say more like "dzaytsime." Having to hear that for the length of an album is incredibly distracting. Outside of the way they pronounce words with Ds in them, their singing isn't much to write home about either. It feels like the kind of music I'd hear in a Burlington. Anyways, I appreciate them throwing Fantasy right in the middle of the album. Only took like 20 minutes to get something vaguely interesting. That song brings me to the other guy in the group, Jamie xx. Not to dismiss the secondary guitarist, but I actually knew who this guy was before this album because of his solo stuff. Somehow I never made the connection between that and this band, despite the name. His work as a producer here is mediocre, but I feel like it's more him being held back by the other people in the band than something in his control. It's all boring and low-energy to the point of making me feel tired by the end of it. In a word, yawn.

It’s pretty bland. Only a few bits are enjoyable but most of it sounds the same

I used to want to like this record. It has components that I like. Seventeen Seconds The Cure guitars, simple beats and understated vocals but I find it pretty dull.

6/10 banger album that aged a little bit badly Will i add this album to my library: already is

Dull. Inoffensive but incredibly dull

Second album from The xx on the list and it’s another two star. Much like I See You there’s nothing necessarily bad about this. I just don’t find it interesting. With no more albums on the list I would pretty much guarantee I’ll never listen to them again.

Could be good but I don’t think the music ever gets going. There’s a lot of intro through the album

Intro is great but then it’s kinda like why am I still listening… wish there were no vocals

Beats, fine. Vocals, bad

Not a huge fan of the make lead singers voice. Music is ok.

Sin interés, pero no es terrible.

Incredibly 2012 Tumblr feeling. Really shockingly bland. Felt like it belonged in a short Hulu series about young millennials.

Intro is really good - I had heard this before but had no idea who played it (and never heard of XX before). The rest seems almost like easy listening. Background music for a coffeeshop. Interesting sound, but not very daring.

imagining this being important to jack and lena

Good background music but doesn't stand out to me. I feel like it would be in the Winx tv show.

Rating: 5/10 It's mostly just boring to me. I like pop music that's ambient, atmospheric, dreamy, minimalist, all those things, but the xx specifically doesn't really do it for me. I find it pretty unmemorable and I really don't like their vocals. It's well produced, it's a vibe, especially that damn intro, and it's not explicitly offensive so it gets a middling score

I remember this. OK. Cant remember what it sounded like already.

Feel like I should have enjoyed this more than I did, but not for me

OK

feel like i'm bout to fall asleep to a vague, diluted version of my brother's indie mixtapes from '95.

The vocalists both suck and while there is nothing truly objectionable about the song arrangement and production, there doesn't seem to be anything inspired or inspiring here either. A fairly tedious, boring album. Personally, I was way more blown away by Imogen Heap's 2009 ELLIPSE than this.

Super forgettable. It wasn’t the worst, but I forgot I was listening to music for half of it.

Seems like there's probably a much more interesting album in here somewhere. But honestly I just spent most of it wishing I was listening to Interpol or Slow Club.

This album was like a terrible handjob. Track 1 - Intro promised interest, arousal, perhaps even brilliance. What followed was 35 minutes of musical edging, slow strokes of melodramatic, yet simultaneously entirely emotionless dirge. It's going nowhere, you want it to stop, but out of respect for the other party you stay quiet, allowing your mind to wander to anything but the matter at hand. After 25 minutes the quest for climax intensifies, but the wolf is far from the door. It is only as the final track - Stars comes to a blissful end that anything close to a climax is reached. It's over. Sweet, orgasmic silence.

sigma podcast intro, gotta respect that

Generic mediocrity

Meh. Nothing special.

Yes I’d like to order a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a slice of white bread with a marshmallow on top.

favs: intro heart skipped a beat shelter infinity night time rating 2.3/5

Car commercial music.

A lot of vocals over a simple guitar track. Not really my thing.

mid, wydaję mi się, że to kompletnie nie mój gust, ale może za którymś razem moja opinia się zmieni, żadna z piosenek nie przyciągnęła mojej uwagi 2,5/5, zdziwiło mnie to bo gatunek wydawał się bardzo mój

This wasn’t egregiously bad but for some reason I kinda hated it. It was just so boring and bland and underwhelming.

Kind of boring. From the UK.

forgettable for me. I've heard the song 'intro' before but that's the only one that left somewhat of an impression.

Quiet; didn't really care for this one much

not rlly my style but would love to listen to more folk sruff like this

This one is difficult for me. It's not that it's outright terrible as much as that it's just boring. It's like boring Phantogram, and Phantogram isn't super interesting for me for the most part anyway. Somehow, XX is a bit more boring than Phantogram. It's like listening to a couple of hipsters record a boring jam session with their guitar and their Casio keyboard and sing over that, but even they sound bored and disinterested with what they're doing. I dunno, man, this one kinda sucks. 4.5/10

I hadn’t heard the album before, and perhaps I was expecting something different. Something a bit louder. Noisier. No, the album isn’t loud. It’s more like quiet, minimalist indie pop. The call it dream pop. But the album is a bit monotonous. No, very monotonous. Individual tracks hardly stand out, and not much sticks in the mind. It’s not a bad album, but it just doesn’t work for me. If I want to listen to that sort of music, I’ll listen to the quiet songs by Velvet Underground. Perhaps I’m simply too old for dream pop.

Sounded like music for a car advert. Started ok but by the end was rather boring

everything sounded the same

The first tracked showed such promise, but then on the second they began to sing and that promise quickly vanished. Things then got more tedious as each track passed, until the end when I felt like a coma was imminent. The instrumentation would be nicely relaxing on its own, but with the droning vocals my brain just wants to turn to jelly.

I wanted to love it but it is boring

redelijk

I am still looking for what makes this album special... so far, I haven't found anything. It is neither horrific nor a captivating, impressive record. It just is something, mediocre and not very detailed. After listening for the first half of the halbum, I was a bit suprised when "Basic Space" featured drums that were remarkable for the first time on the album, at least it was the first time I actually noticed it. I guess you can put it on as background music, but for me, it isn't anything more. 2/5

Dull and dated

The dual vocals don't match well. The guitars are repetitive. l'm all for minimalist pop that's not crazy overproduced but this is dull.

Цікаво) Інді, таке собі(

How to make an xx song: drums, guitar, and some mellow sleepy vocals

Intro was amazing.... and then completely meh

It's ok!!! The music was a lil..... slow and soft for me. ALso the intro song has been used in so many generic youtube videos its hard to not hear it as watchmojo music

Quiet and atmospheric, but generally too slow for my tastes. Probably a 2.5. I remember when this album was all the rage, but despite my love for 2010s indie music I also could t get that into it then.

Sounds like the kind of music a committee consisting of middle-aged men in salmon pink acrylic jumpers would come up with when asked to produce an album of "chilled indie". The Postal Service cover Young Marble Giants (two infinitely more brilliant bands who should have been on this list!).

Boring. Why did I "need" to listen to this before I died? Amateur instrumentalists and tuneless singing

I'm sure I've heard the intro track on TV over the years, it might have been on something like MasterChef. As for the rest of the album, I'm convinced that Robert Dimery gave up after the first edition of the book and just started plumping for albums which had made some random, ostentatious indie YouTuber's year-end lists as how the fuck is this something you need to hear before you die? It's vapid, corporate, air-conditioned nothingness. About as exciting as receiving a tax bill in the post.

Pretty much was what artists were gonna sound like in that scene for the next few years but it’s not like it’s particularly special

The only half-decent track on the album is the intro track... which should tell you how dull this album is. It definitely carried the scene forward, but the amount of ambience doesn't do it any favours.

repetitive

It sounds as though they’re as bored by their music as I am.

it has a place but on the dull end of the spectrum

Intro and Crystallised and that's about it.

Another perfectly fine album that is completely forgettable.

I am not a fan of this genre, so this missed the mark for me.

Mid

This was pretty cool. I didn't love it, but if I heard it some more that could change. i like the sound.

goated intro, el resto no esta mal pero nothing exciting

pulga de bunda

Helt okej, vissa trevliga att lyssna på andra inte. Vissa var lite tråkiga, andra inte. Tyckte sången var lite jobbig att lyssna på ibland 🫣 Tyckte också att introt var bättre än många av låtarna 🫣 Islands och fantasy var najs 4,5/10

It was nice to have on in the background while I’m working, other than that this Album left no lasting impression on me, other than recognising the opening track as it’s been used in countless British TV dramas. 2.5/5 - boring

I feel like there's a lot of potential here but it's lacking that something extra, which is probably energy. The atmospheric sound is interesting but at times it feels like they played a wrong note or didn't hold one for long enough. At the end of the day, it's fine I guess.

Good bass lines and beats. Songs are a little too slow. "Intro" is the best of the record.

oh wow the song that plays in every annoying instagram reel is on here

While I have nothing against dreamy trip-hop — and I would be fine with any of these individual songs in the right spot on a playlist — this kind of droning, simple, unadorned, repetitive album does nothing for me.

A lot of these types of music on this list. Slow paced pop/rock indie shit. Alternative that is somehow boring and even worse than mainstream. I tried, i really did, but I cannot for the life of me like any of it.

Intro had me feeling that something cool was gonna happen but it was just quite mid

this is a top 1001 album? someone explain?

This is fine I guess. I liked Heart Skipped A Beat. It does drag on for me because it's extremely samey and while I can appreciate that in some bands for this it's just kind of a drag. It's not terrible or anything but pretty boring.

I knew what this would sound like as soon as I saw the artist's name in all lowercase. I wasn't wrong.

Very mellow and atmospheric

This isn’t bad, it’s just painfully dull.

Just a bit dull, too minimalistic, just not my taste. Crystalised was my song of the album and fav first listen

Album 56 Top 3 favorites off the album: VCR, Night Time, Stars I think I need to borrow a copy of this book because I truly do not understand why some of these albums are on here. Case in point: this one. How is this an album I need to hear before I die? Please, someone, explain it. Something about minimalism and ambience and and space and silence. I get it. I'm a musician. I promise. It is not a bad album. It's just not one I think I needed to hear before I die. Like if I had 1089 days left to live and I listened to one album every single day, this is one that would make me go, "really? I just spent 38 minutes of the last 1089 days of my life listening to this?" Maybe if I had an extra 38 minutes to spare, I'd put it on in the background, but damn. I genuinely try not to compare albums to one another, but here we go: at least it isn't Bob fucking Dylan or Coldplay. Also, if I wanted something with this vibe, I'd listen to Cigarettes After Sex instead. That is all.

boring

Definitively influential but only in terms of the basic sound of rock. Very solid songwriting overall, but too simplistic and hushed for lasting impact. Fantasy is probably my favourite track.

5/10

There's so little here to even critique. It's not unpleasant, and they nail the ethereal, quiet vulnerable vibe quite well, but this is like a serious version of Cattelan's Comedian

Melodies are fine, but it's mellow and on the whole a lot of aesthetics I didn't like. Nice work, but only 2 for me.

Atmospheric and pleasant-sounding indie music heavy on the delay and electronic rhythms. Kind of a laid back post punk vibe to it. All the songs on this album sound approximately the same. I can pick out their influences here and there, but it never transcends any of them. It’s the sort of thing that’s bland enough to have a broad appeal, which I guess is what landed it here. Not bad, but I assume that I’m going to forget what they sound like five minutes after the album is over.

Hard listen, very boring, should not be in this list. I think its telling that their most streamed song on spotify is the one in which they do not sing.

Completely faded into the background. Nothing stood out to me at all. 24 hours later, doing this review, I have zero memories of any of the songs.

I'm so sorry but I cannot do either of their voices.

I listened to this a couple of times and it just didn't stick. Didn't care for the dude's voice.

its so late 2000´s i cant omg. look, i like indie pop, i cant stand this album currently, i think i liked it back in the 2010s, right now? i cant

Overall pretty slow and boring? I see the atmospheric influences that really impacted the indie rock/folk scene of the 2010's but overall it's fairly simplistic and basic. Definitely an album I'd put on to fall asleep to.

unfortunately have to agree about it all being a bit dull, and the cursive singing got pretty insufferable real fast

Just no I was super into cutting edge pop when I was a young teen, but I think I really started to stop caring about it around in the mid 2010s when those stupid whisper vocals combined with minimal backing tracks took off (think Taylor Swift’s Blank Space, Beach House, Chainsmokers etc), and it sounds like this is might be patient zero for that epidemic. It’s just such a boring sound. It makes the vocals feel less important even if the lyrics come from the heart and there’s literally nothing else interesting going on musically. I get where the appeal for minimalist music like this comes from but it just feels like such a waste of time. It sounds pretty inoffensive and the album’s over pretty quick, so I can’t give it that dreaded 1 star, but I’m pretty certain I’ll never listen to this one again

Oh yes I'll take a same instrumentation for every song please Oh, and no identifiable melodies on the side

Honestly, the only reason I'm giving this album 2 stars instead of 1 is because it is very non offensive and is fine to just play in the background. I am really unsure of how I feel about this album. When I first started listening to it I found that it was quite boring and monotonous. But after some time I could imagine listening to it on a long drive, It's athmospheric and more about the vibes I think. Definitley not like the usual stuff I listen to. Intro was probably the best one, I also liked Infinity. The instrumentals on the album really shine throughout. Maybe I'll enjoy it more after listening to it a couple of times. However, I feel it is extremely lifeless and has no edge or anything interesting to capture my attention. Did I need to hear this before I die? Probably not

I thought this is not too bad listening to the Intro track, however it gets progressively more boring and lazy-sounding. Not too impressed by yet another stupid fucking indie offering on this list. 2 stars

Feels like I listened to the same song ten times. Enjoyed Angus and Julia stone vibes a bit though

Album #1,034 I know not a thing about this before listening. I was pretty bored listening to this. The singers sounded bored as well, especially the male singer. The music was kind of sparse but effect heavy. Not for me.

What a snoozefest. It’s truly telling how boring an album is if the best tracks are the intro and the interlude. The production is admittedly on point, but the sparse instrumentation and vapid subject matter leave this devoid of any emotion. Some interesting moments peak out during Shelter and Basic Space, as well as the intro and Fantasy which I already mentioned, but they’re too few and far between. I also hate this dude’s voice. It’s the worst of the late 2000s hipster style. I avoid using that descriptor because it’s usually so reductive, but in this case that’s the truth. Could be why I enjoyed Shelter more than the others (because he shut the fuck up). With the XX headlining Kilby Block Party, I was initially glad this popped up so I could give it a critical listen. I’ve at least confirmed that I can go home early that day.

I mean.... its not bad. I can see why the instrumental track 'Intro' has almost as many plays on streaming sites at the rest of the songs on this album combined, its the best song here. I listened more than once trying to figure out why this is so critically acclaimed. The answer lies within the Billboard Hot 100 songs of 2009. Here is your top 5: Boom Boom Pow - The Black Eyed Peas, Poker Face - Lady Gaga, Just Dance - Lady Gaga, I Gotta Feeling - The Black Eyed Peas and Love Story - Taylor Swift. Trust me when I say it doesn't get much better than that for the remaining 95 songs. UGH, what a horrible year to have ears. That being said I can see why critics praised this. In comparison to the rest of the years charts its pretty darn good and doesn't sound like it was produced by the exact same production team as everything else getting play that year. Let me know if in 25 years this is still an album you must hear before you die. Its not. 3 because 2.75 isn't an option.

Still as boring.

I forgot the songs before they even finished

nothing special

Альбом слишком попсовый, но Intro я где-то слышал!

Better than the other one on the list (music much better suited for 2009 than 2017), but it’s crazy to have two albums by the xx on here. You can see that’s crazy right

Pretty dull, might suit me better in a different mood.

The xx was a phenomenon of the 2010s. Two albums of them are on this list and I think this one is not as good as the other. The two singers sing at each other, not to each other. They feel disconnected and especially the male vocals feel like they trying too hard to be an outcast character full of teenage angst. Good music which give the proper backbone for this kind of choices with some dubious choices of certain percussion that sits all the way with a clingy sound on the right channel. I thought my fuckin speaker broke. No, The xx can do better than this. But there are also better bands out there.

Started off cool but then nothing else happens.

‘Intro’ made me immensely nostalgic, but then I remembered how annoying I find the vocalists and the rest of the album was a drag to listen to

Gosh this takes me back to my 20s. Generally very bland apart from infinity which I still like.

Had really high hopes for this, intro track is iconic but….that’s about it. Production is really dry and made me lose interest pretty quick. Maybe one or 2 songs made me interested, which then quickly faded away after I listened. Just meh, not terrible but I won’t be listening again

I can see what’s good about it but it is incredibly dull

Some nice sounds but no soul. 2.5

Damn I really want to say this is boring. Its that lame sort of cozy. It feels forced in some ways. 2/5

There are a few songs in here that are pretty good but it ultimately reminds me too much of my annoying hipster self in like 2012-2013 to want to revisit

It's not a good sign when an album's intro is its most enduring track. An intro is supposed to hint at the possibilities of an album, with the later tracks building on that sound. Here, that build-up never comes. Pretty much every song has the same minimal, melodious sound of the intro. To be fair, there's probably a song here that's better than the intro, but most of them are so similar that it'd be hard to pick one. Choruses are subdued. Vocals lack emotion. Some songs, like "Fantasy," are barely there. And yet, I can't dislike this because it is all very pretty. It's a little hypnotic when it's on. The melodies are attractive, even if they're simple. Still, real catharsis never comes while listening to this, leaving an album that hints at the heights that indie rock can reach without ever reaching them. It's nice. But it's forgettable.

boring and plain. 2/5

Boring

They have a unique sound and they perform it well, but the vocal styling is not for me. So credit to them, but I really want to check out half way through the album.

Used to like them more when I was younger. Still okay but definitely dropped off for me.

I started out really enjoying this, but the more it went on, the more tired I grew of the sappy feeling songs. It's kinda funny that the song I enjoyed the most is Intro, but maybe it set my expectations for something else. Moodboard music I guess.

There are some good tracks on here, but they're interspersed with far too much low-tempo musical rambling, so it's hard to stay awake for long enough to notice them when they come. Favourite tracks: Intro, Heart Skipped a Beat, Night Time

boring - can’t distinguish between songs

The intro is the anthem to all influencer slop. I doubt the artists knew what their effect on the world would be. All in all, ok.

bland, lame.

damn i can't believe this was such a hit in 2008 it is boooooring

an okay listen, nothing special to me, bored me a little

It is giving soundtrack do jakiegoś early 2010s serialu w idk Brighton czy innym miasteczku UK o nastolatkach

2⭐️ I found this hard to rate! I think I was originally excited for the more indie tumblr-era sound so expected to rate it higher, but a lot of the songs didn’t really capture me. maybe needs a few listens! songs I already knew: n/a fave new song(s): crystalised

idk im just not enjoying the melancholic vibes of a lot of these albums, intro has gone viral at some point because i recognized it but the album sounds like something in the background of Love is Blind

Was it supposed to put me to sleep?

Confesso que não prestei muita atenção, coloquei de fundo enquanto jogava Minecraft, a intro é bem Minecraft vibes e bem maneira, não achei grandes coisa mas não é ruim nao

boring

Meh. Unobjectionable, but that's about it.

This kinda music isnt really my bag. Vocals were nice, I guess. Favorite Track: Crystalized

Going with Regnix here - the Intro is one of the most epic sounds created by humans. Rest is not my cup of tea.

The xx sind eine britische Band aus London. Ihr Debütalbum xx entstand überwiegend in den XL Studios im Londoner Stadtteil Notting Hill. Musikalisch bewegt sich die Platte zwischen Indie Pop, Dream Pop und minimalistischen Elektronik-Elementen. Auffällig ist die reduzierte Instrumentierung, viel Raum zwischen den Klängen und der zurückhaltende Einsatz von Beats und Effekten. Besonders prägend sind Songs wie „Crystalised“, „Islands“ und „VCR“, die den nüchternen, intimen Grundton des Albums gut widerspiegeln. xx wirkt bewusst unaufgeregt, entwickelt aber über die gesamte Laufzeit eine klare Atmosphäre und einen eigenen Charakter. Insgesamt ein geschlossenes Debüt, das weniger über Einzelhits als über Stimmung und Konsequenz funktioniert.

As someone who claims to love indie this just doesn’t speak to me much.

Boring. At least it has the decency to be short. 2/5

who gaf

late 2000s indie slop. there's a lot of that on this list and this is the worst of it. boring as all hell.

Not mine

Interesting

Not quiet my taste but it’s not bad in general

this album is truly not good

Really disappointed by this one after having just gotten their most recent album ("I See You") yesterday, which was an easy 4 stars. Too muddled and same-y without any appealing factors.

Not bad, just wildly bland. Like if the Cure weren't spooky and made music for coffee shops and yoga classes.

Indie pop unfortunately really isnt my jam

Quelques chansons sympa. Bonne ambiance

Some of the dream pop elements are really good, as well as r'n'b style grooves. It also feels very clumsy and kind of stumbling, which is very distracting to me. I very quickly noticed I stopped listening to the music and was more of a waiting game for the next distraction or annoyance that would kill the flow for me.

Knock-off, dollar store edition of Elliott Smiths' "XO." Best song was the intro.

Huh, so that's where that's from.

yass 2009 in a nutshell

Indietronica, very minimalist. I was not a fan of her vocal style. Through the first 3 songs I thought this would be a good album, unfortunately it went downhill for me.

Not bad, never felt like turning it off but at the same time none of the tracks really stuck.

Not terrible, not great, like a lot of the albums here just kind of there.

Meh

For some reason, this album kind of reminds me of Broken Social Scene, but not really in a good way. Where I find Broken Social Scene lively, complex, and interesting, I find The xx is more dull, muted, and boring. I think the similarities I see/hear is just because it’s indie music from the same era; I could absolutely see The xx playing at the Toronto Island Concerts back in the day or the more recent Field Trip Festivals at Fort York. Anyways, is there any Broken Social Scene on this list? There should be, and if there’s not, I’d trade this album for You Forget It In People.

Not sure what to make of this album. The vocals were really hit or miss for me with some songs being really pretty and others just being a bit lifeless. It's minimalist, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but "minimalist Britpop" is just not really a subgenre I find entertaining. Truthfully I don't think "boring" has any place in the Britpop space. However, I'll give this an additional star for a couple pretty songs.

Yep this sounded like 2009 lol It was like the soundtrack to tumblr or like I’m shopping at urban outfitters or something. I see where other bands got influenced though but I just didn’t care too much for their singing. Started off pretty solid but the second half just felt so slow and boring. It just felt like it was trying too hard to be deep and emotional.

I had high expectations for this one. Especially after an incredible starting track like Intro, which might be one of the top 20 best album opening tracks of all time (maybe?). But I have to say I'm disappointed. Nothing stood out, especially in terms of writing, it was all bland. I can understand what the fuss was all about for those who liked it in '09, mostly from a sonic point of view, but it didn't do the same for me.

robert christgau, on whom i depend to reliably and smugly shit on lame music, wrote about this album that “it’s hard to imagine their music getting much better.” so not only did i have to sit through another xx album of royalty-free tracks for AI-generated travel videos, i also lost faith in one of my favorite haters.

https://on.soundcloud.com/QirYqE9pABRARfU2dl

Not for me

Recognised 'Islands' from the radio but nothing else really resonated. It's clear it's 'first album' material but it doesn't engender the wish to go look for anything else.

Too dark and mysterious for me.

Meh

Electronic not my jam

Pretty boring, just never really went anywhere.

Very chill album. It was fine, but almost too chill in spots (if that’s a thing). I feel like I could have used a little more energy sprinkled throughout. I got some White Stripes vibes, but maybe just because of the male/female vocals sharing. Anyway, this was another one that I didn’t dislike, but I also know that I won’t be going back to.

If this were more dream pop, I might have liked it.

Honestly, I got more out of this when I listened to it the first time. On hearing it again, it feels flatter and less impressive. I also don’t care for the guy’s voice.

Prva pjesma mi je naslućivala bi moglo biti zanimljivo pa je otišlo u dosadu i cringe. 2/5, 3/10

Clearly well-produced but this simply lacks the juice. I prefer the songs where Romy's on lead vocals a bit more. Islands and Shelter are improvements over the others. Islands is a quietly propulsive, hooky tune. Shelter has a desperate ache to it. I understand people were over the moon about this album when it came out, but it mostly didn't land for me.

A coming of age album for many people, including myself, who reached their teens in the late 2000s/early 2010s. There's a quiet melancholy to the sparse guitars and light electronics here, which cosily contour the sensual lyrics. But with the exception of Intro, there aren't any songs with staying power and more than a decade later XX is a somewhat drab and underwhelming listen. Unfortunately this is a pattern with a lot of the indie-electro British scene in this era: not much of it has stood the test of time.

Intro est vraiment bonne. 5/5 Shelter est pas pire le reste: It doesn’t sound like they can sing. i mean good for them, art is for everyone but this is just not my cup of tea

Googling this band is not safe for work. Lo-fi millennial soft rock. That type that got famous just whispering rather than singing. They have a unique sound, I'll give them that. Like "We're disinterested in life, and only barely interested in doing this whole music thing." Perfect coffee shop music. Some moments sound vaguely Khruangbin--ish but without the wild funk and psychedelia. "Infinity" sounds like "Wicked Game" By Chris Isaak, but not as good.

The band just released a deluxe edition of this like today, perfect timing. I'll preface by saying that I like the xx. Before I give a perfunctory analysis that sounds mostly negative but isn't. Their debut album is foundational snoozecore, but they know that. Simple, homogenous compositions. Tender lullabye singing. Band name lowercase, no pretentions to capital letters. the xx whispered so that crumb could mumble. But that's the style. It's music for sensitive souls that need a break from loud noises or sudden tempo changes. Music for sitting in the dark with headphones, creeping your crush's posts. The guy's singing is pretty lackluster, I do admit. And Romy has distinguished herself a lot more as a solo artist since this album. And Jamie's productions have likewise come a long way. But they've got the cute best friend band thing going, and that's the charm. I do like the xx. I would see the xx live again. I will put my baby to sleep to the xx. But this is like a generous 2/5.

I don’t think I knew the band but I definitely remember some of these songs from this era. This first song makes me feel like I’m on hold. Very chill background music. I zone it out and forget to pay attention to it a lot but it’s soft and soothing. This album gets a little stronger by the end but I don’t think anything really grabbed hold of me.

Has there ever been a clearer example of track one, side one of a debut being good and everything after being shite than The xx. To be honest Intro isn't even that good just familiar from being used as background music in every TV programme of the early 2010s. I was baffled by how popular this was at the time and having listened to the album years later I was shocked at just how mild and uninteresting it was. They rip off the sound of Chris Issak's Wicked Game on a couple of the tracks but rather than singing about a world being on fire, I felt more like I was listening to someone upset their toaster wasn't doing both sides evenly.

would be 2x (haha 2x is the band name) better if they muted the vocal track

Amazingly forgettable

Not to my taste

2.45

Thought their other album was ok but inconsequential. And that, this or both are no longer on the list? After only a few years. Inconsequential hey. It’s sort of ok, in that ambient and low energy, lost in your own bedroom, kind of way. It never really progresses, is quiet soporific and as such remains background in my mind, all low levels; electronic sounds, minimal guitar and low key vocals. Just reading wiki, and see it appears as background on a fair number of tv shows which kind of sums up the background feel to it. I can’t really raise much enthusiasm, other than ok. 2 Star

Sounds like car commercial music

I have only heard the instrumental intro song before, which I love. Turns out their voices are annoying, not into it.

RUINED INDIE POP!!!!!!!! but its shadow on mainstream pop led to some utterly fascinating developments. i find it a bit dull and plodding personally, though i see the appeal pretty clearly and think that it has earned a spot in the public consciousness deserves to be one of the 1001? i might not care for it much but yes

Is it just me or does every song sound the same? Lazy singing, lazy guitar work, the rhythm section actually seems to want to go somewhere but can’t. Very yawn inducing

The best track is the first track, and the album gets worse from there. Not a terrible album, just extremely depressing. The fact that the first track has nearly as many listens as the rest of the album really speaks volumes. There are hundreds of quirky coffee and antique shops playing some of these tracks on repeat. Overall 4/10

I really struggled with this one. The first track is dope and I’ve always liked it. Perhaps because it’s instrumental. When the vocals start, however, it’s like they suck all of the energy out of me. Exhausting sound. Not a fan .

Ambient and depressing! I am reminded why I couldn’t finish this album when it came out - while the first track is strong they do blend together

Intro was the best song.

Pretty low key and forgettable ambient indie pop album. A couple decent radio singles but becomes very boring as a full album. Inoffensive and very plain. Top tracks: Intro, Fantasy

Perfectly fine albeit slightly boring atmospheric pop 2.5/5

Pleasant album with some songs that I liked, but I don’t think I would listen to the full album again

Minimalist instrumentation, song structures and vocal range on display here. Admittedly didn’t dig in deep with the lyrics but nothing that stood out there to me on the first listen either. Sets and sustains a mood, and there are a couple moments that feel semi- cathartic amid the gloom; however overall too much empty canvas to make me want to come back to this one.

This is boring background music they have on in the dentists office

Starts out fine but gets so repetitive. It became a chore to finish listening to this even though there are like 2-3 really enjoyable songs on here.

I was not too surprised to learn that they first made a name for themselves by licensing their music for TV... It does indeed sound like the soundtrack of a hip Netflix series about angsty young Londoners. I kind of enjoyed it as background music. The gloomy atmosphere grew on me after a while, and there’s definitely a couple of nice loops here and there. But the beats are too minimalist for my taste, and the affected, blasé vocals are a bit annoying. It feels a bit empty, like comatose music for hungover people, and the whole band seems to be on the verge of passing out. Maybe they needed another X ? 4/10

Bang average as opposed to being outright terrible like the other xx album on this list. Forges a distinctly icy, minimal sound and direction for itself by copping a tremendous dull ripoff feel of Young Marble Giants and combining it with the dullest, most fakest plastic facets of modern indie. Shame they couldn’t copy another trend of Young Marble Giants by limiting themselves to only one album.

Appreciate the minimalism on a certain level and this album has a vibe, for sure. If an album could be two awkward people in their early twenties trying to hang out and get to know each other, this would be it. Don't want to be too harsh, but the minimalism was a bit too minimalist at times - some songs feel like ideas that never got fully fleshed out; I would lose track of when a song began and ended, and quite a bit sounds the same. But I appreciate the homegrown nature of this album and there are a few songs on here that are exceptional.

ethereal surf mellow jams

I liked some songs. All songs have the same chill out atmosphere, some are more interesting while others just fall under the same repetitive style. I would probably listen to two or three songs again but the rest is just music to have on the background. Nice to hear but a bit boring.

Too low-key for me.

“Intro” is good, albeit somewhat overplayed, but the rest is just music for shopping at H&M

I remember this album banging a lot harder than this

Album 901 of 1089 The xx - xx (2009) Rating : 2.5 / 5 Mellow, low-key indie pop with a quiet charm, even if it didn’t stick long after. A nice, low-key indie pop listen that held its niche well. Can’t say there were a lot of melodies that stuck with me, but the band has their sound and they stay consistent with it. Nothing earth-shattering here, but I also don’t regret the time spent listening. It had a quiet charm to it, even if it isn’t something I’d go reaching for again.

Did not know the album or the band before listening, so was super surprised to know the first track. It went downhill from there though. Pretty boring stuff.

Indie electronic music to study and be sad to. Well produced.

Like a minimalist cross between the Cure and Coldplay but less interesting

WE'RE BACK BABY ! Honestly, I love this album, it’s the perfect soundtrack for staring out a bus window and pretending your life is a black&white indie film. It's moody, it's mysterious and it's sexy. Overall, “XX” is minimalism done right. It’s not flashy, it’s not loud, it's like the musical equivalent of someone whispering “psst… I have feelings” directly into your soul. LOVE ! 4/5 - HF xo - Returning minimalism to the mainstream in a way that hadn't been seen since the 80s, we have the record that spawned 1000 acts that thought they just didn't have to put that much into writing music and could get away with it. The xx managed it and were probably the best at it around the late 00s/early 10s. The most positive word I can use about the songs are that they are quite 'nice'. Wholly unoffensive but they inspire absolutely nothing in me. Ther's some nice little guitar parts here and there which sound like someone put Johnny Marr in an ice bath and put a gun to his head and asked him to pump out some arpeggios. But I was probably spoiled growing up in the late 90s/2000s when music had kinda bounced back (I've bounced back, Lynn) after the previous decade, but in the snobbiest way possible I'm either excited by music or transfixed by music or I'm probably not enjoying it. The more known tracks (VCR, Crystalised, Islands) stack up the first part of this record, and it falls off a cliff pretty quickly. The singles take you back to an era when people thought shows like Skins were like how late teen life should be and aspired to be like the characters, realising they actually weren't middle-class kids from Bristol and actually poor kids from the North where the pills weren't as good and you couldn't afford coke on your EMA. They actually try something with tracks like 'Fantasy' and 'Stars', but they don't have enough about them to stand-out as top album tracks and the record peters out with a whimper. A forgettable experience from a forgettable year. 1.9/5 JF - I thought for a second I didn't know the band or this album then 10 seconds in I'm thrown back to underage drinking, smoking down fairy glen and buying cigs from an old Chinese fella (big up Tony Saltburn OG) VCR is a slow paced, lowfi tune, lyrically well put together with some nice harmonies but very little to say other than that. Crystallised bumps up the BPMs slightly with a funky bassline and minimalist type guitar, once again not a bad track but it's not really grabbing me, with the expectations The Intro set, I expected more. Okay this won't be a long review, mainly because I don't really have much to say about it, it's starts off so well but then it's just kind of boring, I don't mind minimalism in music when it's done well, sometimes less is more and there nothing wrong with that. But an entire album of minimalist build up to minimum if no pay off at all? Yeah not my cup of tea. It's like if the DJ made the first track then fell asleep and team of teenagers on a come down picked up what was left, probably won't pick this album up again tbh. 1.8/5 MTW

Got a star cause of Danny kelly

These guys? Again? Really?

Seemed okay, not sure if my thing.

Gar nd mini musig ehrlichgseit. Intro infonity sind voll ok aber de rest het mir jetzt gar nd gfalle

Can recognise the quality and contribution to the genre here. "Good indie" is an oxymoron, but this is about bearable, if a bit dull.

Just a bit bland Familiarity: [3 – Know some songs] Songs I would actively choose to listen to: [1 - None] What can I remember the next day?: [1 - None}

Meh

Very forgettable

The intro track of is fantastic and the only one I knew before diving in. I expected more of that vibe, but the rest of the album is just boring and bland. Something I’ve already forgotten.

Basically a lofi album with breathy, slightly out of tune vocals over the top. I couldn't get into this one. I don't even get how this counts as pop, there's nothing pop about it, although I find most pop to be annoying so I guess it has that going for it. It's just a bad album. The 2000s had so many good albums come out, why did this make the 1000 that I should listen to before I die? It's a fine album. I don't hate it. I just would never choose to listen to this when there are so many better options that exist.

I hate saying bad things about albums that definitely had a lot of hard work that went into it, but this is just really boring in my opinion. I lost interest halfway through and it never brought me back. "Crystalised" is a really good song though. I'm glad i know it now. Everything else for the most part will be forgotten by tomorrow

'You used to have all the answers / And you, you still have them too.' I'm not sure if Romy ever heard of Mitch Hedberg, but that sure does resemble the comedian's classic joke: 'I used to do drug, I still do, but I used to too.' Unlike Mitch tho, the xx doesn't have a single funny bone in their makeup: it's all a whispered and enervating chillness that has no sense of humor or iota of what it means to be alive. It's dream pop to the extent that my bed time accords w/ the hour the record is put on, but the legacy of The Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, or even the flawed but memorable Mazzy Star is hardly continued on this record. I don't get why the Kool Aid was drunk w/ this group: nothing special and especially sleepy. Not xx: more Zzz.

Not exactly terrible but definately part of the dross I complained about in my Jacques Brel review not too long ago. No idea why I have to listen to this really.

Wouldn't moan if it was on in someone else's house, but it's a bit samey. Lacking substance. Not for me.

Boring music for boring people

Melancholic duets that aren't my peanut butter. Bit of eerie synth and guitar. 2009 hipster music.

The album has a very uniform "I can't be too loud or I'll wake up my parents" sound. It doesn't sound /bad/, but the whispering gets old really quick. I also acknowledge that Spotify's audio balancing is non-existent, but it irks me that I had to double my volume to actually hear this album.

Lovely. First track is a 5. Falls to a mediocre 2 quickly. Still nice and melodic.

Never heard of these guys. When I saw the name, I immediately thought they were some punk rock group I knew I would hate. Definitely not punk rock and can't say that I hate them. To be honest, they are very listenable. But they lack that unknown quality that sparks my interest. Most of the songs are slow and soft, same tempo and kind to run together. If they're going to do that, I need some interesting melodies and lyrics, like Nick Drake.

one thing i've noticed about myself from my time on this website is that i tend to be more generous with my scoring for albums that came out when i was a teenager (regardless of whether i listened to them around that time or not). it's like, even if i didn't listen to these specific songs my ears are somehow still reminded of MY YOUTH or something and then i'm compelled by nostalgia to give at least 3 or 4 stars even when it's..... not really a 3 or 4 star album...... i wonder if other people have this as well or if it's a common thing, like people who grew up in the 70s being more generous with stuff that came out in the 70s etc, and then whether the overall scoring on this website is skewed by that at all, like if you can tell the patterns and demographics of people who use this website based on their assigning high scores to stuff that came out when they were young. idk, i'd be interested to know about this! anyway, that was a long preamble to say that a part of me did want to give this 3 stars without thinking about it too much but come on, this is just not a classic album guys, let's be serious. my experience of this album is that i went into it thinking i didn't know any songs by The xx apart from Angels which i do like and then i felt disappointed that Angels isn't on here, and then as i listened to each song on this album i kept thinking, wait, do i actually know this? have i heard this before?? like they all felt VAGUELY familiar and may have been playing in the background at some point when i was 19 and i just didn't realise. i sort of get that this album represents a certain type of music/vibe/whatever that was big around this time and probably The xx popularised it so like, yes, on one level i do understand why they're here but also i really don't because these songs are SOOOOOOO nothingy. the best thing i can say is that this would work quite well as lying-on-the-floor-staring-up-at-the-ceiling music, which tbf is something that i do sometimes. but yeah i'm gonna give this 2 stars. Angels started auto-playing after i finished the album and i still like that song.

Meh electronic

mediocre

The sound design of this album is stunning, especially the song "Basic Space". I imagine that this album is an excellent experience if listened to while lying down in a quiet, dark room. Unfortunately, in all other circumstances, it is very dull.

One of the first records I can remember understanding completely what they were doing and feeling like I was too old for their deal and their audience. I like a lot of Jamie XX’s solo club records and whatnot but I have rarely vibed to Romy and Oliver’s close mic emoting.

All the songs sounded the same. At least it was a little relaxing.

Zzz

The familiarity of the intro and liked it a lot. Bit of a dip down to the next track but seems most popular tracks are first 4. Kinda drab and feel like songs that are primed to drop the beat or get going, but they never really do. I’m all for moody electronica but just doesn’t feel very accomplished or skilful. Kinda like some moody college students got a free copy of Cubase. Lacking depth or variety or skill really. Pretty samey, uninspired and edging on parody at times. One of those albums that just makes me increasingly angry at its lacking.

xx: the xx: I was interested at first, but this shit is so bare and boring as hell. It all sounds the same, its super basic, and the male vocalist kinda sucks. A shame. 4/10

I wanted to like this album. "Intro" is pretty solid and the only The xx song I've heard before. It sets a cool tone that the rest of the album just doesn't match. It's rather straightforward angsty indie fare with simplistic beats and didn't do a whole lot to keep my interest, and that's a shame. The thing that bothered me most were the very breathy, nasally, vocals that were off-putting to me. I also wish there had just been more energy poured into this album. It falls flat for me. The synths and a very distinctive guitar tone are the saviors here and I caught myself just latching on to those sounds to try to pull something interesting out of the tracks. Standouts were "Intro" and "Basic Space." Struggling with whether to give this a 2 or 3. It probably falls between that, but I think it's a 2 for just being not that interesting or musically impressive.

It's not bad but it's very boring.

Basic and simple but needs expansion to really grow

Pomalé balady, není to můj šálek kávy

Inoffensive and kinda boring. Whisper indie. Its ok.

I know this intro song, i like it. But for a moment, this sounds like an ad theme song haha. Cute background music. I mean I don't see myself listening to this. I'm not so impressed with the singing/vocals. Maybe even a bit boring.

The instrumental music was fine, but the vocals were really not my style.

Intro is classic tense love island music.

Not for me. It's really dull. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ❌️ Revisit ❌️ Boring ★★☆☆☆

Solid ambient, 2.5

I remember the first song, but it is really boring other than that.

I think every song was just made up of F and C - dull but vibey

Good

3* review Couple of ok tracks but quite lazyly put together and mundane

Oh, this is ambient background music for hipster coffee shops. I feel like I missed a lot of 00s indie as it was happening, but going back much of it feels flat and rather lifeless. This is no exception, so I guess I didn't miss much.

Just background music, nothing special. I think it could be better if it's just instrumental.

Too low energy for me, its like ASMR as an album. Almost fell asleep towards the end. Favourite Song: Crystalised

Listened to this biking through Brooklyn, maybe anything is nice doing that but this kinda hit in that setting. Still not my fav tho. 2.5

Idk it's ok I guess

160/1089 - I like how the voices sound production-wise but dislike how they sound quality-wise. The female vocal is better than the male vocal. It's probably not very good when the best thing I can think of to say is that it sounds inoffensive. The song structure was alright in the beginning, and Islands was cool.

Pre-listening thoughts: man we have gotten a ton of 2000s recently what is going on Post/during listening thoughts: ya know I was excited for this one cause it was a post 2000 pick, and I shouldn’t have been. It was so mid. Quiet ass songs that go nowhere. It’s like if someone put a shitty beat over Of Monsters and Men. Bleh. 4/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: no Fav tracks: Islands, Night Time Least fav tracks: Crystalized, Fantasy, Basic Space

Nice production, but this needs a lot more instrumentation, better singing, and catchier hooks, or at the very least more songs that actually go somewhere. These tunes feel very underdeveloped. I only really liked 2 tracks.

Snore

That sounded like Kirsten Stewart's face expressions in Twilight, only worse. The music isn't that bad, but the singing really is. They would have gotten one more star if it had been instrumental, but there really isn't much I enjoyed in that album.

I still don’t get the hype, but it is much more palatable now. Still just so … blah, but in a dreary way.

meh, some catchy songs, quite slow paced and minimal throughout and uninspiring

It's not inherently offensive, but I don't see how it's on this list. I did not "need to hear this before I died". Solid enough, but nothing special. 2 from me.

In which an iconic opening track is undone by a 33 minute long second track to close the album

Not terrible but also nothing to get excited about

Never listening to this album, nor truly being familiar with the xx (I have the intro to this album saved but honestly could not have told you who the artist was if you asked me 12 hours ago). So when the intro came on, I was stoked because I do really like that song as a mellow chill focus on my work vibe. I thought it would be more of that lofi techno chill hop kind of an album, but it turned out to be lofi whisper pop. After the second song I was still bought in, and the intro still had me pumped for more after the 3rd song, but by the time the 4th song started I realized I’d been duped. Overall a boring disappointment. Nothing was done poorly, but nothing was really done at all. 4.2/10 #75/1001

I was hungover this day and the music kinda made me scared and anxious

A record that feels more about style than substance, it’s a slick distillation of dub, R&B, and early 2000 indie pop. The songs are minimalist, and the tempos and melodies sort of morph into one another into a background music soundtrack. It’s perfectly listenable, but a bit boring. Seems a bit too cool for school.

when I listened to this my audio visualizer microwaved a tumblr user wearing a jean jacket, plastic choker, and doc martens x_x xD there is no mustache emoji???

If they played on America’s Got Talent they would be the X X X getting buzzed off the stage :P The album just hasn’t stood up to the passage of time

One of the most 2009 albums ever recorded. Completely without substance and attempts to coasts on aesthetics. The aesthetics are occasionally nice, and when they actually try to write a song I kinda like it, but most of it is just nothing to me. From a critical perspective, I find it pretty offensive, but personally for me it is fine background music (there's a reason why "Intro 10 hours plus rain sounds" is so popular... this shit is meant to be played but not listened to). Fav song: Crystallized

when the two minute long intro is the best song on the album 💔 2.5

Not bad. Wouldn't run back to it though.

Disco bem fraco. Não chega a ser exatamente ruim, mas não traz nenhum brilho, nenhum momento cativante. O destaque fica na produção, que traz bons timbres de guitarra e sintetizadores envolventes. Nem mesmo o contraste entre as vozes salva as melodias insossas e as composições sem rumo.

A presença desse disco numa lista como essa escancara o principal problema do livro. Tirando uma ou outra coisa latina ou europeia (tem Chico, Caetano, Milton, Kraftwerk), mais de 90% dos discos são de artistas e bandas dos Estados Unidos e Inglaterra. Não tem nada que justifique a inclusão desse álbum no livro. Pop sem graça e repertório fraco.

On paper this band is up my alley, but I failed to get into their music 15 odd years ago and still am not feeling it. I like “Islands” but the album as a whole seemed drab and unremarkable.

A lullaby album in both the best and worst sense of the word. I really like a couple of songs from this album, but overall, I do think this is a fairly boring and overrated album. There, I said it, now take away my "late millennial/early Gen Z" credential.

Wasn’t for me.

nije mi bio neš ni kad je izašao

Fine, but I certainly didn’t need to listen to it

Very boring and dull album where everything sounded the same. I’m also not a big fan of the breathy vocal performance.

There were some nice moments and compelling musical textures - but after a while boring and so incredibly low energy. I am trying to imagine a scenario where I would put this disc on the player and imagine it would be while planning for a suicide...

Oh yeah, these guys. I remember when they were big. Never really got into them and now I definitely know why. Because they're boring af. 3/10

Good enough for one listen through but it’s kind of boring

How bout the Intro, I’m sure no one’s mentioned that one yet. It’s very of its time already which doesn’t bode well for the aging of this album (2.5/5)

sempre achei esse especialmente chato the xx sempre foi hype demais e pouca qualidade

My guess is the average XX fan sits in the corner of an independent coffee shop, reading the Bell Jar, spends his days patronising women and thinking he is superior for listening to the XX

Nah. Didn’t enjoy it at all

Chill vibe, almost too chill? Sleepytime music

diabolical that there’s two albums by them on this list? i said it before and i’ll say it again: retail music. i feel like im in a tjmaxx. it’s by no means the worst thing ive ever heard but i also do not care for it

Favorite track: intro. Overall score: 3.5/10