The XX

After catching serious sunburn from this dramatic heatwave we've experienced all of a sudden  , 'FA Cup Vinyl' needs to unwind, apply the after sun and listen to one of the best albums of late, The XX's self-titled album. 

Released in 2009, this great 'indie pop' album (we didn't describe it as that) is one of those brilliant atmospheric albums that is so difficult to find these days. It's relaxing, it's stress releasing and most of all, it's bloody good. 

Originally consisting as a four-piece of Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim and Baria Qureshi (who has since left) , as well as including one of FA Cup Vinyl's favourite producers of recent Jamie Smith, or 'Jamie XX' who you may be more familiar with.  E.g that bloke who did that album sampling 'The Godfather of Rap' Gil Scott Heron. If you want to be that blunt. 

However it's hard to describe 'The XX' as they're so different to anything previously we've discussed before. One of the reasons it's so highly rated here is due to the hushed tones on the album, it makes it one of the perfect albums to listen to at night as the meaning is more apparent due to it being recorded in the evening. What is also not so much groundbreaking but innovative is the overlap of voices, with the male and female vocals synchronising, most notably in 'Crystalised' and 'Heart Skipped A Beat' which are also two classic tracks we might add, perfect to go on the playlist. 

Whilst you may be familiar with the singles like 'Crystalised' and particularly 'Islands' which was the more successful commercially, it's not to say there isn't some hidden gems on this album. One of FA Cup Vinyl's favourites has to be 'Shelter' as we believe that, quite frankly it's where female vocalist Romy Madley Croft is at her best, mixing her gorgeous breathless voice with an excellent backing track of relaxed guitar playing and timed pauses make it one of the highlights on this great album. 

It's also a testament to new music to know that 'The XX' are a British band as we hear a lot of talk that new music is dead, particularly in England and we may all have to become Miles Kane fans... Oh what a terrible thought. But with band like 'The XX' exploring the boundaries of music, being described as post-dubstep and among other things, it's also inspired artists like James Blake and SBTRKT to also experiment with the new genre. Still the word Dubstep makes us shudder. God, it's atrocious music. Swiftly moving on.

To sum up this is definitely an album you need in the collection as it also gives insight into other bands from the genre and solo stuff from 'The XX' members, e.g Jamie XX's 'We're New Here' (Gil Scott Heron collaboration album) and other odd remixes of songs, his version of Adele's 'Rolling In The Deep' and Radiohead's 'Bloom' are worth a listen as well. 

FA Cup Vinyl Rating: 8/10