thexx11

The xx - debut album on XL, video, lots of NYC shows (dates)

The xx

The XX, four young, sullen-faced youths dressed in black, have that alluring band-as-a-gang aura about them. They spent their youth at south-west London’s Elliott School (fellow alumni: Four Tet, Burial and Hot Chip) obsessively tinkering with instruments in the music room before signing a deal and self-producing their album in their record company’s back office.

At first glance, you’d expect them to make basement rock’n’roll songs serrated with guitar feedback, but they’re more interesting than that. For starters, they’re fronted by a boy/girl combo – Romy Madley Croft (guitar) and Oliver Sim (bass) – whose interplay lends their debut an intimate tension. Along with bandmates Baria Qureshi (keyboards/guitar) and Jamie Smith (programming/samples), Croft and Sim craft languid, sparsely arranged love songs that recall atmospheric 80s acts such as the Cocteau Twins and Mazzy Star. Better still, they betray their south London roots: gentle, plaintive melodies are framed by minimal beats that nod to dubstep and R&B. [Guardian UK]

The xx’s debut record, conveniently called xx, will come out October 20th via Young Turks/XL Recordings (just to keep it straight: the xx is releasing xx on xl).

In August the band is visiting NYC for a bunch of shows. As previously announced, they’re opening for School of Seven Bells’ South Street Seaport show on August 14th, but they’re here at least a week before that. Their first NYC show comes on August 7th when they play the Mercury Lounge with Free Energy, Sean Bones and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros (tickets). Then, they play Bruar Falls on the 8th, Monkey Town on the 10th, Pianos on the 12th, and Music Hall of Williamsburg with Friendly Fires on August 13th. I wouldn’t be surprised if they add even more.

The video for the band’s song “Crystalized,” with all tour dates, below…

The xx – “Crystalized”

The xx – 2009 Tour Dates
Jul 24 Secret Garden Party Cambridgeshire
Jul 25 Truck Festival Oxfordshire
Jul 26 Tramlines Festival Sheffield
Aug 01 Field Day London
Aug 02 Underage Festival London
Aug 07 Mercury Lounge w/ Free Energy New York, NY
Aug 08 Bruar Falls, Brooklyn, NY
Aug 10 Monkey Town Brooklyn NY
Aug 12 Pianos New York, NY
Aug 13 Music Hall w/ Friendly Fires Brooklyn, NY
Aug 14 South St Seaport New York, NY w/ School of Seven Bells

Aug 17 Hoxton Hall (First London Headline Shows) London
Aug 18 Hoxton Hall (First London Headline Shows) London
Aug 29 Leeds Festival Leeds
Aug 30 Reading Festival Reading
Sep 17 O2 Academy w/ Florence and The Machine Bristol
Sep 18 O2 Academy w/ Florence and The Machine Bournemouth
Sep 20 O2 Academy w/ Florence and The Machine Birmingham
Sep 21 O2 Academy w/ Florence and The Machine Leeds
Sep 22 ABC w/ Florence and The Machine Glasgow
Sep 24 O2 Academy w/ Florence and The Machine Newcastle
Sep 25 O2 Academy w/ Florence and The Machine Manchester
Sep 27 Shepherds Bush Empire w/ Florence and The Machine London
Sep 28 Shepherds Bush Empire w/ Florence and The Machine London
Sep 29 Shepherds Bush Empire w/ Florence and The Machine London
Oct 01 Cooler Bristol
Oct 02 Jericho Tavern Oxford
Oct 03 Cluny Newcastle
Oct 04 Deaf Institute Manchester
Oct 05 Captain’s Rest Glasgow
Oct 06 Korova Liverpool
Oct 07 Bodega Nottingham
Oct 13 Lido Berlin
Oct 14 Gruner Jager Hamburg
Oct 15 Luxor Cologne
Oct 16 59-1 Munich