Deceivingly simple? On my first listen, this album felt a little basic, but enjoyable. The guitar was great at setting the mood and really driving the pace of the album. When I listened back and was listening closer to the lyrics, they had such an intriguing flow. Never ending right on the line, letting phrases and ideas linger on into the next phrase, almost hitting a peak in the middle of a line before lulling through the end, only to drive back up and down another peak.

The definition of a vibe - lush but restrained, almost understated but so exacting in the message and its delivery. Wild to think this is from 2009 - the influences are clearly everywhere in pop and dance music, but this album still sounds so fresh. It's strange how this can be so fresh and be so nostalgic at the same time. I was not aware of this album in 2009, and really only discovered The xx following Jamie xx's solo project, so I don't even have true nostalgia associated with the music, it just curates that feeling so well. I don't know if there's a deep longing in the music or if there's a deep understanding of the simple aspects of love and longing.