xx

Only 1 decent song really

When I first listened to this album it had the effect of introducing me to a sound I hadn't previously heard. I then clued in to Young Marble Giants as a predecessor, but this album is sufficiently unique that I still rate it as one of the best I've heard in the last 15 years. It was great to relisten after a few years away from it.

Delightful surprise.

This album is a mood. Soft, almost whispering voices, downbeat, fuzzy bass-tones, minimalist, pared down. It is definitely unique and immediately recognizable. I love it, although I'm not sure I'd characterize it as an all-time favorite. But it is the perfect music for a quiet day at home, working on a project, perhaps with the pattering of rain on the roof. 4.5/5 rounding down because I am not sure it has lasting power.

Not sure why i like this so much. maybe i heard it before??? maybe in another life???? good floaty dreamy, but a bit of a one trick that i almost went with 4 stars.

I've never been so bored.

The instrumental Intro is easily the highlight of entire album. Rest of it feels like something Netflix would use as a soundtrack for teenage drama couples scene.

pretty standard indie pop, chillige beats

Прослушано! Любопытный альбом, есть очень интересные композиции, можно переслушать.

Atmospheric indie pop with a nice vibe to it

I like this a lot. I can't place who the female singer reminds me of. Aside from a couple tracks that were more ambient and less musical, this album was very good.

The other day I gave 5 stars to Rust Never Sleeps. Imagine my surprise when I played this for the first time in my life. I actually enjoyed it. I guess there's two kinds of passion in music: ragged and dirty (Neil) and precise and sweeping (xx).

Some interesting sounds but not that great

Very good

Great album. The XX are a band that really has a unique sound with the way they harmonize combined with their minimalistic instrumentation.

Enjoyable ambience that I sadly now associate with stock music due to how many times it has been ripped off

Another album I’m familiar with, and another I really like. Easy to forget how massive this was too. My only criticism is they do have a ‘tried and tested’ sound that is repeated through the album, but for the whole works in their favour.

There are songs on this I liked but again think I struggle when an entire album is based on a stripped back sound, gets repetitive. The breathy vocals get on my nerves too

Not for me, enjoyed the intro.

A chilled out album that I thought was decent. "Heart Skipped A Beat", "Islands" and "Crystallised" were the highlights for me.

Recognised a lot of songs considering I don't know the band. Quite enjoyed it. Very chilled. Bumping this up to 4

This is an album for the summer months!

Minimal sounds, maximum sympathetic

Un disc d'un moment i una escena. Però que gairebé 15 anys després continua conservant tota la seva força. Ens va sorprendre a tots, de la mateixa manera que discos icònics et deixen amb la boca oberta ja des del primer cop que els escoltes. No han tornat a assolir el mateix nivell des d'aleshores, i l'efecte sorpresa ja va quedar més aigualit, però aquest àlbum continua sent una meravella

Love this, love them, spare atmospheric longing...

73/100

Nice to see the authors expanding their favoritism of BritPop to post 80s and 90s. Not a bad album, but not list worthy either. 2/5.

4.1 + Like making love to someone you've been dating for a few months and you're just enjoying that sweet spot where the sex is fresh and also comfortable.

Very likable album.

Nice tunes, chill

Eh. Pretty underwhelming, boring.

4 Chill

Great, but the 2nd half is too solemn in the end.

I listened to this a LOT when it first came out (my first/second year of college) and loved it, but got a bit tired of the songs on the first half. They were quite overplayed and popped up in all sorts of films and TV shows at the time. 'Intro' in particular was very overused. Listening to it again today though, I think enough time has passed that I can appreciate it again. This is a finely crafted album. The music is fantastic and it is atmospheric and melancholic in all the right ways imo. I can see how some might say it is a bit melodramatic, too "of its time", or that the lyrics are a little basic. It is all of those things, but overall I think it's a great album, and only has a few tracks that I find a bit underwhelming (Fantasy, Basic Space and Night Time). Maybe that's my emotional connection with the time speaking though. Nice one to round off my first 40 albums! 9/10

Boring.

Much better than I remember it was when I bought it!

I'm not gonna lie, this album was hard to give a crap about. It's fine, but I didn't find anything interesting about it. I could see why people would like it, but I just kept waiting for it to be over so I could listen to something a bit more stimulating 3/5

Oikein sopivaa kuuneltavaa varsinkin pimeällä esim. Kävelyllä tai autolla ajaessa. Osa biiseistä vähän toisti itseään, mutta selkeesti tosi huonoja biisejä ei mun mielestä ollu. Miellyttävää kuunneltavaa. Paras biisi: Intro on helppo valinta, mut Basic Space oli kans ihan jees Huonoin biisi: Fantasy

Eh.

Niiice

This album had such a chokehold on the UK indie music scene in 2009 and the early 2010s, and I get it - the production is fantastic and it just seems effortlessly cool. But the vocals are so lifeless and it really gives off such a vibe of style over substance that it's still difficult for me to find anything other than surface level enjoyment here

Highlight: Stars 3,5/5

Ja heel dik, 5*

Moderni klassikko 4/5

Joitain kovia biisejä ja hyviä soundeja, mutta joku latteus tässä aina ottaa vähän vastaan. En fiilaa solisteja kauheasti. Jamien soololevy on parempi ja ehkä myös tän bändin kolmas levy.

Miellyttävää elektro-rock-poppista, mut joku salamanisku vielä puuttuu et nousis neloseen. 3/5

Can’t quite decide if I’m into this or not. I think so. 3/5

It's nice-sounding but there's not much more to it than that

More chill than I expected

Good Background music for work.

Liked the intro, and shelter

Pretty boring. I had heard this before and wasn't taken with it then and not taken with it now. That being said, I wouldn't turn it off if it were on in the background. 2.75/5

I came in expecting to hate it, but I didn’t? Still not really my scene, but it has a solid groove and I like how the male and female vocalists intercept. Unlike a lot of other indie stuff, I can kind of get the appeal, even if I don’t see me adding it to my collection. C

The xx is soul of our generation.

4, kinda chill

Increíble

Jamie XX is a dote. The xx are a bit boring

T3B 1. Crystalised 2. Infinity 3. VCR

This was already on my favourites, so not suprising this is getting a 4.

jijiji

Loved first song, lyrics and sound. Got really excited for the rest of the album thinking I may have found new band to check out. Rest of album, songs all seemed to run together, all the same. Not a lot of vibe or energy. Not for me VCR a solid 4. Rest of album a 1 I'll give a 2 just because of VCR

3.5 Really low-key indie pop music. I could see myself listening to this late at night in fall. Sometimes catchy, sometimes dreamy, I enjoyed this one a lot more than I thought I would.

4 Having heard of but never listened to The xx, I really enjoyed this album. It's very much "in the feels" music... aka my favorite kind of music. Musically, I really liked how subtle it was. While simplistic, it felt like every note captured the exact emotion the song (and album) was going for, and I couldn't help but bob my head along. In many ways it reminded me of a lot of my favorite artists, but I couldn't pinpoint exactly which ones - in some ways, it reminded me of a modern New Order. That being said, the Chris Isaak vibes were strong with Infinity. While I didn't walk away in love with it, I feel like there's a lot of room for growth on me, and I think one day this album could yield a higher rating. I will be listening again. Favorite songs: Intro, VCR, Crystalized, Islands, Infinity

rimelig banging

Moderne britisk indiepop, atmosfærisk, rimelig chill

aight

Not a fan

I've heard the first track before which is fantastic but haven't listened to the rest of the album. This is pretty good. It isn't perfect and it is a little background music-y nothing is super standout aside from the first track. I'd say its a little ahead of its time with this dreamy pop ness which took off more in the 2010s.

I quite enjoyed this album. Some fine songs on here that make good use of the female singer's sultry voice. The mood throughout is dark and emotive with nice washes of synthesizers, simple but effective guitars and a tight rhythm section. Favorite songs on first listen; VCR, Crystalized, Shelter and Night Time. It does bog down a little in the second half and I do find myself hoping for something a little up tempo ...Night Time does somewhat fit that bill and Stars helps things end on a relatively high note. All in all a good album that I can't give a full 4 because of the lull in the middle. 3.5 stars

The front half of this album was more upbeat, and the back half was more somber and melancholic. At times the delivery of the vocals almost felt forced in that the singers were putting no flair on singing at all, almost as if bored. I did, however, enjoy the harmonies of the male and female vocals. The music delivery was uneventful, with simple guitar riffs and drum beats, typical of new age pop music. Favourite songs: Islands, Heart Skipped a Beat, Intro (an upbeat instrumental number), Chrystalised, VCR An interesting note about the song Fantasy: It begins as a relatively slow and boring song, but around the 1:30 mark, the bass kicks in in a big way (it would be a great subwoofer tester at that point) Least favourite songs: Night Time, Stars, Shelter 3/5

Was ok, not amazing, not bad

Due to an accident with the play button, I actually started listening to This Old Tune by James Kant. I was thinking to myself "Hey, I never realised the xx did this! This is cool!". Unfortunately, I realised that I was listening to the wrong thing fairly quickly and actually started listening to the xx and all I can say it's probably one of the less dismal albums to be released between 2002 and 2010. Did I object? No. Would I recommended it to a friend? No. Would I rather be listening to Hugo Kant? Yes. I mean, it's not bad. But it just kind of exists.

simple in concept and chill. like it.

Not really my cup of tea.

Fairly solid

blah blah blah

more my thing but too mellow

I had an X who always wanted to listen to this whenever we did anything X rated. Boring music, just like my X.

I don't mind music that's sparse, music that leaves a lot of space for your mind to fill in. The only way I can describe this record is like eating a fistful of CBD with no THC: all the couch lock laziness with none of the fun "seeing colors" stuff. It's sleepy, lazy (but purposely so), but I can't say I loathe it. It's definitely not for me. It's definitely for someone who writes at Pitchfork. To me, there's way too much space between everything and I just can't get behind it. Favorite track: "Intro", "Basic Space"

I like the xx, so this album was a re-visit for me. This isn't an earth-shattering record or anything, but it's nice and pleasant for my ears. I particularly enjoy writing to this one.

Definitely the weakest as of far but it is only day 3. The production is pretty nice and colourful, but the vocals do this no justice at all; not sure what's more grating, the male or the female vocals. Numerous bands did this sound so much better literally a whole decade earlier.

I'm a fan, and this sound still holds up 13 years later. Great debut.

Super cool hipster music with dual vocalists. I'm not a fan of Croft's stilted cursive singing style and not a single lyric stands out enough for me to know what they are singing about. The spartan, atmospheric tracks are begging for a more evocative vocal performance but we never get a chance to hear one. I'm begging to hear Kele Okereke's voice and words here. All of the songs sound the same.

8/10 pretty fun, but a bit boring

Good sounds. Would like to listen some more

Not that pumped on this. Decent music but sounds like the music before EDM drops. Very alright album tho

Enjoyed more than I thought

Good thing I was drinking coffee while listening. Not a morning album if you want to wake up.

Great chill album, loved the intro and crystalized songs

The first song I knew. It had me hyped and ready for the album. Overall I liked the sounds and instruments it is the most relistenable album so far. Just kept waiting for the beats to drop and they didn’t

(3.2) i liked the mixed vocals. Nice surprise recognizing the intro song.

Love this album, so so good every time I listen

I've saved some songs from this album. I knew them, but didn't know the band.

I like the economy of resources and the restraint and subdued nature of both music and lyrics. After a while, it starts to feel monotonous but, in general I like it.

Yesterday, I listened to this album for the first time, with my love, and was moved by even the first song in it. Very smooth, calm, beautiful melody.

Pleasant without being memorable

Maybe if they went for a third X it would have tipped the scales. Not a bad listen, but not headlining festival worthy.

This one passed by my ears like a wispy cloud of echoey guitars and unobtrusive vocals. Nice but not the groundbreaking indie music I had been led to believe

Técnicamente interesante, musicalmente insulso

This album sounds so dated, it’s aged horribly and it’s not even old. Some of the compositions can be interesting but it is ruined as soon as the vocals come in. This album is so full of itself it makes me roll my eyes into the back of my head.

This is sort of dreamy and atmospheric in a pleasant way. I don't dislike it, but there is nothing here that really stands out. I actually liked the first song the best because it's basically instrumental. The vocals do nothing for me at all on the other tracks. Overall okay but forgettable.

Its ok

It was fine. Sleepy time music maybe except for the hit. The girls voice isn’t great

Sounds like the sings never get going

Heard before: not in its entirety I couldn’t really get into it (minimalistic, but unremarkable). The sound was nice enough though.

Cool mellow sound, but overall just OK. Would listen to it in the right mood, say while reading, but prefer Sigur Ros.

Dancey spacey. Get LP

Very repetitive, dreary, and not compelling. Would never listen again.

It kind of drifted past me without creating a great impression, may need another listen?

Didn't really grab me, not listened to it, will it improve with more listens?

Definitely one of the most melancholic pop albums. Beautifully understated with the perfect amount of ethereal spookiness.

I found the vocals a little too subdued but enjoyed the music. Infinity was my standout track. 3/5

Decent album. I had heard the Intro song before but never knew where it was from. Solid listen.

Interesting instrumentation meets uninspired, brooding songs. 2.5/5

Quite ok. Cozy indie rock with electronic elements

3.5 stars, nice soft female and male vocals, most songs feel like a conversation in between both singers, mixed with nice clean reverb sound on the guitar, simple, but really nice. An enjoyable listen for sure

1st excellent

Canciones demasiado relajadas y poco innovadoras. Ritmos muy tranquilos. Con poca alegría. Estilo muy plano

There's something magical about the combination of the dreamy vocals and the slightly distorted, echoey instrumentals. I love this album.

it's a pretty peak indietronica/indie pop album. the combination of both the slow subtle male and female vocals and the atmospheric guitars/bass juxtaposed with the energetic drums create an album that set the scene for a new type of indietronica. highlights include vcr, crystalised, heart skipped a beat, infinity, and stars. i also need to point out the odd semi-ambient song fantasy, as while it wasn't anything too unexpected, i did still love how the xx executed it.

You know there’s a bunch of albums on this list I’ve had where there’s one iconic song and the rest is pretty forgettable. The first 5 songs on this one are now all timers. Crystallized is about as perfect as a pop song can be. The rest of this record I feel looses steam in the second half. I can’t imagine eating this anything less than 5 stars. It’s an essential part of the 2000s alternative canon. (I might have only heard it first in 2011 but who cares) I’m not going to find who to attribute it to, but I once read with The XX it’s more important the notes they don’t play (truly terrible take, up there with calling music life affirming). I’ve also heard this music called really simple. What it is is very precise, accurately built. Have not given the other XX (or Jamie XX) albums a chance after this one. I suspect I’m going to be listening to them at some point either in this list or otherwise.

love this genre and this album has a great atmosphere to it (also - amazing vocals)

Hadn't heard of The XX before - though VCR and a couple of the other songs were familiar to me. I thought the album started strong, particularly liked 'Islands', but then fades away. The space I liked initially sees them melt into the background. 'Infinity' is pretty close to 'Wicked Game'. All up, happy to be introduced to The XX

Not much to say. It just was.

No album better captures the post recession, pre-fascism sober feeling of 2010s youth than this one. There’s a simmering anxiety under each song but for this very moment you feel fine. From a pure listenability perspective, this is a very solid album throughout. Especially impressive that it overcomes the Intro, which I easily could’ve been caught in the web of seeming like a gimmicky car commercial.

I really feel the people who make these lists are really out of touch with what is relevant past the mid 00's. Listened to this before and as I remembered it's pleasant but forgettable.

Awesome album! I love this artist!

xx doesn't really impress when you discover that Intro is the best track on this album, a widely-recognised tune full of intensity and anticipation and tension and drama and then...the rest of it doesn't get close to the same quality or strength of feeling. 2/5.

This is a good listen, but definitely fades towards the end. Don't quite understand how they got so popular tbh - it's not super accessible, and it's quite laid back and chilled out. Not my favourite, but a comfortable three heading in the direction of (but not reaching) a four. Probably would have made 4 if it had stayed at the level that the first three tracks set.

It's chill, but not anything I'd reach for over similar albums

Definitely worth more listens. Having to give it a 3 for now.

I just wrote a review about The Who in which I started that they are boring unless they are rocking it with massive Townsend power chords. Now I'm about to listen to stripped-down, minimalist, pop. All this from a group I've never heard of. Not holding out much hope. It wasn't awful, but it was a long way from being something I need to hear. The vocalists are having a "lame-off" over uninspiring music. Not bad if you need to sleep

Good background music, but it's a bit wishy washy

I remember when this dropped it absolutely blew my mind. I still think that is the case. Heart Skipped a beat is the best track and it is still just white hot for me. There is something so seductive and sexy about this whole album, its spare angsty duets. Shelter is another track that I just LOVE. The lyrics, her raspy voice. It's all a treat. The minor piano chords, the pacing, the tension. You can cut it with a knife.

Really good listen. Never heard of them but I'll add them to my queue.

This feels like a trip down a highway on a summer night not affected by climate change, windows down,

I've never heard of The xx, so I had no clue what to expect from this album. I found the "Intro" pleasant enough. The guitar feels sorta '80s-ish in the vein of the Smiths' "How Soon Is Now?" or maybe something from U2. The fact that it's the most-streamed track on the album didn't bode well, though. Turns out that concern was valid. The album has a seriously low-key sound, almost ambient at times. It didn't make much of an impression on me, other than making me wonder why there was little to no percussion throughout large swaths of it. Thankfully, the percussion wasn't MIA in "Heart Skipped a Beat," which might be the track that stood out most to me (apart from the intro). Or maybe it wasn't. It was like picking out the shade of beige that stands out the most from other shades of beige. Gotta admit, I'm puzzled by the fact that this album was so well-received. It feels like the sort of unobtrusive music one would throw on just to fill some aural background space. I didn't hate it, but it's definitely not for me.

Minimalist electro with deep tones & sleepy vocals. I had forgotten how great this album is. Excellent listen.

Like aural Valium. Did not get into this one at all. Not sure what mood I'd have to be in to appreciate it. Found myself on more than one occasion wanting to skip tracks just to get to the finish. Maybe as background music while building Lego or colouring would be a suitable time to give it another shot. Overall, just not my bag.

Great listen chill and enjoyable!

Really liked it Each song is great

Not to my taste, this is for lonely middle class girls from the later 2000s.

Top class prog, a new fun genre to explore

I think this would be perfect to listen for either an early morning, a lazy day off, or even napping on a hill in the shade under a big tree. So calm and lowkey, but it's hard to find particular favourites as it's the mood you remember the most.

Crystalised is one of my all time favorites- The Coexist album is great too. Absolutely classic album

I remember when this came out. Still good.

I liked the use of ambience and space but it was very lacking in dynamics and excitement.

It was neat and I could see how it would've been a bigger deal in 2009.

really dig about half of the songs so I can’t give this 5 stars. The other half I’m meh on. Great throwback.

Atmospheric, moody, a hit of nostalgia.

Not for me. Same sounds across the entire album. Hits/singles are neat

This was a snoozefest. They have two vocalists, and they both sounded so disconnected and apathetic the entire album. The stripped down, chill instrumentals are ... okay ... but I was extremely bored and felt uninspired while listening to this.

Sparse music for simple background noise. I like a handful of tracks but there were a little too many dull moments to rate this higher. Favorite track: Islands

So. A couple of too-cool-for-school teens get together, with plans of becoming the next Interpol. Problem is, she can only talk-sing five notes, and the boy... well, he's limited to one monotone note. Despite this, they forge on. So they pen some really emotional lyrics which, to be ironic maaaaaaan, they talk-sing together in a completely detached and emotionless way. But they forge on. Having written a dozen or so of the exact same thing, they figure let's make an album. They do that. Turns out, it's less Interpol-esque, and more like a couple of 11 year olds doing a Casio keyboard drum beat over their mom's cherished Enya album.

J’ai découvert ce band au cégep dans mes cours de modèle vivant. C’était l’agencement parfait. Le mood, la pièce, l’ambiance. Il y a peut-être un petit peu de nostalgie dans mon appréciation. À mon avis Coexist est meilleur, mais on voit très bien où ça s’en va sur celui-ci. La voix de la chanteuse m’agace parfois.

J'aime beaucoup le côté minimal de ce band. Je les ai découvert dans une période où je travaillais beaucoup de soir et c'était parfait comme trame sonore. C'est pas toujours parfait côté vocal, mais ça mets un peu de fragilité dans l'affaire.

meh

30th June 2022 Listened while working from home in the office. Went to the oak in the evening. One of the seminal albums of my generation, I remember when it came out and people just went nuts for it. Will always remember watching them at glasto as the sun went down.

How can an intro be the best track

weinig aan

Top album, veel gedraaid!

Mooi, sfeervol album.

Dit heeft iets bijzonders. Moeilijk om te zeggen waar 'm dat precies in zit, maar het werkt. Zelfs 2x geluisterd en bleeft echt boeien.

Ik kan me voorstellen dat mensen hier boos van worden. Ik vind het rustgevend maar ook wel erg non-descript. Vooruit, ik rond het af naar boven.

Dawno nie bylo popu z wysp, wiec wjezdza xx od the xx, rok 2k09, wiec czasy mialkosci w muzyce przekraczaja kolejne granice dzieki latwosci tworzenia, jest to jedna z tych wlasnie plyt, minimalistyczne brzmienia dwoch czy trzech instrumentow, produkcja na lapku i target liryczny nastoletnie glowy, bo calosc traktuje o tragicznej milosci, kazdy trak jeszcze glebiej stara sie kopac w tak oklepanym temacie, sposobem jaki na to banda znalazla jest wkorzystanie dwoch wokali, chlop Oliver Sim i baba Romy Madley Croft sa wokalnym duetem bandy, grajacymi role zakochanych, kochankow lub wrogow, pozostala dwojka czlonkow sa Baria Qureshi, ktora po wydaniu albumu opuscila grupe i zostalo trio oraz Jamie Smith czyli glowa tego projektu, bo ktos odpowiedzialny za produkcje, a przy takim minimalizmie wszystko lezy na beatach, lirycznie nie ma sie czego chwycic, wokalnie rowniez glosy sa tak nijakie, ze nawet juz podczas odsluchu nie brzmia, czy moze to taki zabieg produkcyjny, zeby wymusic sluchanie o wiele glosniej niz zazwyczaj sie slucha muzyki, bo jak przystalo na muzyke popularna musi byc basior, ktorego czuc dopiero gdy wokale sa na poziomie zbyt glosno na wiekszosci trakow, ale tak czy inaczej beaty sa jedyna pozytywna strona tego nagrania, nie wiem czemu openingowy trak zatytulowany nie inaczej jak intro wydaje sie mi jakos dziwnie znany, teraz nie wiem czy to z jakiejs reklamy, windy, czy cos bylo samplowane, najbardziej kojarzy mi sie z clippingowym materialem, samo xx jednak mnie nie kupuje i nie wiem skad miejsce na liscie na takie jednoszczalowe krazki, najlepszym potwierdzeniem mojej teorii, ze beaty tworza ten album jest fakt, ze jedyny utwor prawie calkowicie instrumentalny, poza lekkim wyciem, jest najczesciej odtwarzanym utworem z plyty, a nie jest to dlugi material, bo 38 minut na 11 trakach, na plejke lofikowa leci wspomiany instrumental czyli intro

I’ve herd this one a few times it’s decent… The album opens with an intro track it’s a track that some perceive as the album’s best song, I wouldn’t go that far but it’s a brilliant instrumental! VCR is a song that I would describe as playful and childish with the bell noises but, I love that part,very enjoyable. Also I love that the song shows off both the vocalists even if none of them are top tier! Crystallised has a cool ( yet gloomy) guitar riff the song kinda looses it spark as the song goes on but it’s not a poor song. Islands is quite hard to flaw the instrumentation is crisp, it’s poppy but sad sounding at the same time. Heart skipped a beat isn’t one of my favourites, it’s the first example of a song that doesn’t do anything interesting I mean the drums are nice and what’s there of guitar work is good just not enough. Then is fantasy an odd interlude track it’s a small chant over light atmospheric synths if any song diverges from the albums core values it’s this one. Shelter is one of the poppier songs on the album would have been a great single choice, the chorus has this repetitive guitar riff and drums like a heartbeat really building up the tension into a borderline classic! Basic space is probably the album’s weakest song the sorta tribal rhythm along with the spaced apart singing is cool but not as special and unique as the other songs specialities. Infinity is the album’s longest song at just over 5 minutes it’s a shame though as the vocals are so low in the mix that especially for the man it’s really hard to get a grasp of the message. The quality of these tracks are tight but it’s still one of the 3 weakest. The penultimate track night time is a slow builder initially having little to no instrumental work but building up into a fairly full track for this album having a dark hip hop vibe. Stars closes the album with a fairly great tune filled with a pulsating, repetitive bass line having small piano and guitar parts building around it. Like VCR at the start it’s a near full on duet rounding off this album well! I know both of these artists aren’t on the generator but this album kinda reminds me of Billie Eillish meets interpol these mumbling vocals over a repetitive but interesting guitar riff. Overall the album brings off a great sense of euphoria when listening to it as a whole but it’s a hard one to listen to the songs separately as it feels a cohesive project.

Intro on kyllä hyvä biisi, muuten aika mitäänsanomatonta.

Delightfully bummed evenings in.

Bang average.

Lovely, spacey and does not overstay it’s welcome - some memorable melodies and hooks peppered throughout - whole production is stylish and singing lush.

The first album that's no longer in the book as of 2021 edition (app must have missed this). It was always weird that The XX's 3rd album was ever included, but that's gone too. Feels slightly harsh on the debut which is pretty good, although from memory there were only about 4 songs on it that were standout, being generous, and they very much capture the moment around the end of the 00s. Immensely parody-able, listening to it now, and tbf the overtly stylised nature of the band meant they always were at the time. The rest of the album just sort of maintained the mood, meandering without doing anything special. But the standout songs were good, some not as good as I remember, and sometimes we're just in Chris Isaacs territory... I always found the bloke annoying. In the end agree with the decision to ditch from the 1001.

1.5

Pretty good, a little boring if I'm being honest though. 3 stars.

Glacial Gen Z whispering. Post-punk vibes abound here and miserable teenagers with funny haircuts. Best Tracks: VCR; Crystalised; Islands

I enjoyed it but it definitely wanted me to keep wanting more, to be honest. The whole thing seemed pretty mellow. 7/10

I'm a little familiar with the XX, first heard Islands on a music based video game and then one or two radio singles that came later. Overall liked their vibe, very lofi minimalist but they have nice voices and put together some catchy little riffs. Nice chill album in the background, they are a bit mumbly in their singing so don't catch much of the lyrics unless you're really focusing. Don't mind though, added Intro, Crystallized, and Islands to the playlist.

Boring as sin

Minimalistic

ehg

Chill

This should be brilliant. But it’s not. Cover art. 5/5 love it

Unintersting music by disinterested musicians. I pictured them all recording this while looking non-stop at their phones while pretending that none of the other musicians were actually there. EVERY track sounded the same except for the first song, which was an obvious rip-off of David Bowie's "Heroes".

Endless quantities of horrible lo-fi indie bedroom music have come out since the mid 2010s that sound just like this. Yuck. It comes across as so devoid of soul and talent. The entire album could've been written by selecting default backing tracks in GarageBand. The girl's voice is basic and bland, but it's nothing compared to the cringe-inducing terror that is the guy's voice. Plus the guitar is so simplistic it hurts, literally the most basic guitar playing I've heard on this entire 1001 list.

This is a great album with a really nice ambient sound. I could see this going on in the background of a chill hangout, or at a busy bar on a Wednesday. Definitely will listen again.

Listened to on 5/23/22 3/5 Favorite song: intro Very indie and intimate with lots of random pauses in the songs - the intro is great though

Chill and classic indie album with several good songs (Intro, Islands, etc.). 4.5 that’s up to a 5 just because of how many songs I have on my playlist already!

Insanely boring. Usually, I’m a fan of slower music but this wasn’t it. It was intolerable at points. The lackluster music and the singing (which I honestly could not stand) made this such a difficult album to get through. I really wanted to like it but I just couldn’t bring myself to enjoy it.

Held up surprisingly well. Great in concert, great on a commute.

Really enjoyed this album. The vocals compliment the music really well.

4.3 - Great album for a lazy morning or soothing evening. Really solid dream pop/synth type stuff that just works.

Beautiful. Chill.

Fantastic indie rock album. A must listen

When I rated the other xx album on here I said that I hadn't listened to this one. But that was wrong because this album has been on high rotation over the years I just never made the connection. An easy 5 stars, I just love the way the vocals interwine and the laid back vibes of the music.

meinlaust

So soft and relaxing you could completely dissolve into this album. Love it. Not so complicate but still satysfying.

Ehhhhh……………………..

Great chill out album, doesn't grab me but a brilliant album nonetheless.

Didn't love this one. It was fine but not that entertaining. The songs didn't really grab me at all. The intro has the most listens as it's some tiktok song. I did give this a few listens though. Just not my jam.

3.5

I cannot process the conceptual absurdity of having a band called The xx and titling the debut album XX but then only putting one X on the cover. Oh, the quirkiness of it all! *eyeroll* What a gamble someone would take buying this album without knowing the band first. Stark black and white, one X. Could be anything, any genre. Imagine buying it, taking it home, putting it on and then what actually comes out of it is just more watered down unoriginal indie? Not knowing this band beforehand, I personally expected something edgier. It's fine. I just never got into that whispery electronic indie guy-girl singer thing that boomed in the late 00's. It's flash in the pan stuff that doesn't have the musical staying power I need.

Confer toutes les critiques d'albums classés Post Erasmus Indie déjà générés par Robert.

A la lecture du review de mon camarade d'écoute robephèmère, j'eu peur de retrouver un enième album inconnu, seulement présent dans le générateur grâce aux nombreux échanges Erasmus effectués par Robert. Il n'en était rien, ce groupe des xx est en fait extrêmemen connu, et nous propose un très bon album, que je me réjouis de noter d'un très beau 4/5.

Intro bangs, rest is meh

The xx is a band that I like, although this was the first time I've listened to an entire album from the band. I'm pretty sure that I have put "VCR" or "Islands" on one of my personal playlists. I like the xx's mix of indie-pop that dips into electronic music from time to time. This band sounds like it would go well with many of the artists produced by Sub Pop records.

Very pleasant. Thats all.

that intro go hard

som morno, sem vontade de viver kk

Damn this shit boring as fuck lol

This album is very good. Always a pleasure to listen to it.

As chill as possible, very soft vocals and tight beats, minimal but sharp melodies.

04/25/22

Good songs- wasn’t in the mood for this type of music when it was shown to me though

Decent but iron-deficient. Minimalist to the point of approaching insubstantiality. Like a one-track tape of a Cure recording session. More dozy than dreamy. The biggest problem is that all the best hooks and grooves are cut off prematurely. There’s a likable modesty that avoids twee-ness (thank God) but never gets beyond or resolves the pleasant state of suspension it reaches on track after track. One wonders, for ex, how the undeniably (and inoffensively) groovy opener would sound like if left to fully expand and turn into, you know, a song. Similarly, “VCR” works as an homage to old tech, but the downside of that authenticity is that it risks sounding like an outdated video game (albeit one played by emo-tending lonelyhearts). Another ex: “Islands” raises the heart rate briefly and then, well, ends. The best hooks on the entire record – as on “Night Time” – need (and deserve) more space and time, too. The overall effect is awfully ‘80s – who else wants Bronson Pinchot or Griffin Dunne to star in a movie to which this is the soundtrack? The record merely interests, never impels. 3.1 (but only for pro-genre bias) / 3.

I'm giving this one 4 stars... but I'm not entirely sure why. There's nothing exceptional here. There's also nothing objectionable. Normally, that'd earn it a middling 3 stars. But here we are at 4 stars anyway. I think it's a combination of things. It's a short album, clocking in at just under 40 minutes which means that none of the 11 tracks linger too long. Instead, they say their piece, set a mood, and move on. That's a really nice aesthetic and I'm here for it. By the end of the album, I found myself favorably inclined towards it as a whole, though none of the tracks left a strong impression. In fact, I found that I liked it best when I wasn't actively paying attention to it. That's when my head started bobbing and my toes started tapping. So, yeah. 4 stars.

Chill. Nice lyrics.

Treads a very fine between minimalistic and dull but I think it juuuust pulls it off. Not one to regularly listen to but still enjoyable

There were a few songs like Crystalised and Intro that have tempo and are really good. On the other hand the ambient songs are not so interesting and there sure are a lot of them.

Atmospheric indie with an extra dose of melancholy. I like the simple guitar work, which creates a moody vibe and reminds me a bit of the Cure at times. If you're going to pull off an album so sparse, you need good song-writing and exceptional vocals (like Beth Gibbons for example). The song-writing is pretty good and a few of the earlier tracks stand out. I was familiar with a remix of "Crystalized", which I quite liked. The female vocals by Romy Madley Croft are okay, but Oliver Sim's vocals bog the album down.

Intro is the best intro song of all time. There I said it. It's also the best song of the album, pity that its less than 3 mins, but then again it leaves you wanting more. When this debut album from The xx was first released I thought it was Everything But the Girl for the aughts, it captured the zeitgiest of the time perfectly: spare, subdued, melancholic, minimalist and disaffected vocals. 13 years later the world has changed and this unfortunately sounds somewhat dated.

Didn't realise that The xx have been around since 2009! It feels like they only really came into consciousness in the last few years (being 2022 atm), but upon reflection it really has been a long time! The xx have a way of making music that just slips into you consciousness and take over your soul without you even noticing it's there. Best: Intro; Shelter Worst: N/A

I always assumed the xx was an electro pop band, so I wrote off this album as a relic of an era. Listening now, many years later, I honestly felt underwhelmed. I enjoy the songs themselves, sure, but it doesn’t hit the way current pop does. That is obviously a sign of the evolution of popular music, and how in 2009, this WAS the current and future style. You could call the xx pioneers for this type of pop/electronic music. That is why this record is so highly regarded. Listening in 2022 provides a different perspective.

tbh not that good im not a fan of the genre couple of songs i added to my liked but just to give the album a second chance whole type of music and themes not really for me

Starts strong, then very similar for the rest of the album. Not bad, just similar

I just really love this album

One of the most incredible musical moments of my life was hearing "Intro" echo across Glastonbury's fields at the close of the 2013 festival. It was a fitting coda for a weekend of excess. The rest of the album can't quite match the lofty heights of "Intro," but it the XX certainly had a unique sound and pushed things forwards a little bit.

This was the blandest thing I've listened to in a while. I couldn't even muster up the energy to totally hate it. What a lifeless, dull, boring piece of indie "rock". 2/5.

Ehh it was ok. Lots of good mood that’s overshadowed by a dreary yet polished sound which- in my opinion- overstays it’s welcome

pretty chill

Electronic pop that's not form the 80s that I actually like. Perhaps a bit boring at times but I like, I might go back to this. Never heard of this band before.

It’s fine.

Brilliant stuff, moody yet detached.

Pretty good.

Agréable à l’oreille, cette musique linéaire finit par être soporifique.

Loved the album. Suitable for long drives and romantic encounters.

Okayish music, nothing special

I love this album. Their sparse arrangements, her voice, their songs… all great and new sounding.

Surprised to really like this album!

The Intro Is Eternal. Belfarcha I Was Always Looking For It, Never Thought It Was Called INTRO Hhhhhh

Each track is well put together. Minimalist indie rock that focuses on perfecting each sound in each track. Melodic and whispery vocals appeal to all audiences. Each track has its hooks, necessary to get people's attentions whenever a new song comes along, ending with a satisfying closer that ties together the theme. The codas to "Crystalised" and "Islands" are so short but leave you with a positive note. The star of the album is definitely Jamie Smith. The guitar, bass, and vocals are really nice, but honestly it's Jamie's work on the sequencer and production that really makes each track pleasing to the ear. "Intro" and "Fantasy" do amazing jobs at organizing the tracks and giving the audience room to breath before taking in the next one. Starting with "Fantasy," the following pieces become much more atmospheric and dark. "Shelter" just gives off Joy Division vibes. We re-enter some of the heavy dance beats in the latter halves of "Infinity" and "Night Time." Over a decade after its release, I can agree that this album had a huge influence of 2010s music. I hardly listen to the music of the past decade, but this very much doesn't sound like much from before 2009, but yet this is the kind of music (but worse) I hear all over advertisements and the chill-kind of music I hear in friends' indie music. I can finally hear the transition how we got to this point, which I feel I can now appreciate. Favorites: Crystalised, Islands, Infinity

Catchy, unique sound. Might have heard so many of these songs on the radio so many times I was ready to write them off. But as a first album from some kids fresh out of high school this is really creative and impressive.

One of my all time favourite records, so a totally biased 5 stars. My go to album when on a plane, headphones in, eyes shut, blast this and chill the fuck out.

Rating: 10/10

Boring, lack of variation and feeling, would be good elevator music. Intro is great though and I like the atmospheric vibes of the album.

Sexy

Great album to chill to. Love it

Ughh. Minimalistic? Yes. Boring? Yes. Will I listen again? No. 2

Relajante, melódica. Para escuchar tranquilamente sin hacer nada mas

Frábær plata sem kom mér í opna skjöldu. Gott vibe þarna

Boring

Minimalist, occasionally not very interesting.

Fantastic 1st song. Terrible rest of the album.

Where do I know the intro from???

An absolute masterpiece of stripped-down, subdued indie pop. The platonic ideal of the genre.

Possibly on of my favorite albums in the last 20 or 30 years easy.

😍

Good hipster indy pop Weird how YT pushed the intro song like 10 years ago so hard despite the album having much better songs

Eu ainda fico esperando a Rihanna entrar quando escuto a intro desse aqui

Energetic, insatiable, enjoyable electro-pop from some of the most enigmatic musicians around today. As a debut, they couldn't do worse and they bring about plenty of emotions and feelings to the tracks. All around pretty great album. Favorites: VCR, Crystallized, Islands, Heart Skipped a Beat, Basic Space, Infinity.

Very nice album, used to listen to this quite a lot back in the day

02/13/22 Omg what a surprise to see this pop up. Throwback to minimal “low-effort” indie pop/rock. Olds will hate it, of course, but it’s a great, dreamy album.

Sex and sadness

desde 2009 provando q gente feia tb transa. 'intro' é uma das melhores intros.

Buen álbum. No los conocía y me sorprendieron. Me gustó que las canciones tuvieran una onda muy relajada, muy chill.

não achei que ia gostar mas gostei!

masterpiece, one of the best intros I know, I love every single song

4.5, slightly closer to 5

Not my style

i *liked* it BUT it very much felt like boo hoo hoo dy know what i mean

This is one of those albums that I loved at the time but forget exists. Really enjoyed hearing it again. It’s a very specific mood, but they do it so well. And there are some great songs on here - particularly VCR. Reminds me to check out some of their other tunes / albums. A nice nostalgia trip, and one that still sounds fresh.

This passed me by, both then and now. Pleasant, but not memorable.

Nah.

ehhh fannst þetta aldrei frábær plata, alveg solid en frekar boring

My favorite middle school make-out album

Pretty good, enjoyed the vocals and the music was interesting.

Атмосферный вайб чилл

Probable ent que marie aimerait ca. Ca ressemble a angus et julia stone et ce genre de musique. 3.5

it's alright. I feel it should be better than it actually is, or rather I should like it more than I do, but at some points it just gets kinda stale. with that being said though, there is some good stuff on here.

Pretty modern ambient "indie" rock. Lots of reverb and some synths. Most songs are duets but didn't particularly care for one of the voices (the guy). It's well executed and I can see why this record would be really appealing for a lot of people. If I would have been at the right age when this record came out, I could imagine it being important to me. But unfortunately I wasn't and this kinda music isn't really my thing - little boridng. It's ok, but not for me.

Downtempo indie melancholy

liebe das album! schon sooo oft gehört. lieblingsnummern crystalised und islands

liebe die transparenz und das understatement, stellt die (instrument) Melodien schön in den Mittelpunkt. Wie ein Werbespot für Reverb Effekte. FM4 Mukke pur. sehr intim und nachdenklich. Infinity klaut frech Wicked Game :-D Die Harfen auf Heart Skipped a Beat mega, und der Drumtrack auch (der einen Beat skipped :-) )

Quite enjoyed this. Good background music. 3.5

Like The Pleasure Principle, the recurring backing track got a bit boring after a while.

Love it.

xx is one of the nicest alternative electronic music album I have listened in some time, the voices, lyrics, melody construction, everything makes the album very interesting.

Exceptional start, fades off towards the end. Some anthems on here I had pretty much forgotten about

Ein paar finde ich gut, ein paar nicht ganz so gut. Ich hatte es mir tatsächlich schlimmer vorgestellt.

I only liked two songs, nice and short, minimal production but nothing crazy

Great album with immaculate production. The guitar licks are so identifiable.

Pleasantly surprised. Very nice and easy to listen to. Despite being generally chill and relaxing, it doesn't put me to sleep like some other soft pop albums on this list. Not something I expected from the ominous album art. Very strong 3/5.

I absolutely love this album. I’d give it ten out of ten if possible.

Ok. I dont know where Ive heard thae first track before but it was very recognizable.

track 1 and 2 were great

I tried but never got into this band. Sure they sound good and I get little flashes of other bands I really like which instead of warming me to The XX just make me want to go and listen to the others. This album just washed over me and hasn't left that much of an impression. With some other bands I get implored to give them another listen in the hopes that something will grab me, in this case I am just going to move on.

Utterly unremarkable.

I'd like to give this one 5 stars. So i will.

I love the voices, the mood, sparse arrangements and general sound. When it's good, and it gets the vibe/beat right, it is amazing. My one complaint is that it gets a little samesy and there are many songs without a hook. Still very enjoyable.

Beautiful

This was really good, and sounded pretty original for 2011.

pretty meh nothing stands out 2.5