LogFAQs > #975015451

Somehow an album that is even more important to me than the one from last week! I've gotten lucky with other people nominating my lesser known favorites.

I first really got into popular music in 2008 with the 1-2 punch of GTA4 and Rock Band 2, and xx was one of the first albums I discovered when I finally started listening to that format in 2010. 2010 was also the year I came out as gay, and though none of the songs here are explicitly about queer subject matter, xx casts an intense sense of isolation through both its lyrical themes and sparse instrumentation that I found familiar (so it was no surprise when I later learned the two vocalists are gay/lesbian). The band was fresh out of high school when they recorded this album, but there is a greater gravity here than typical high school angst (which, vocalist Oliver Sim had very good reasons to be so intense; last year, he came out as having been diagnosed with HIV at age 17, two years before this album was recorded). Yet through all the dire sounds, this album also carries a sense of hope.

On a cultural level, this operates as the immediate precursor to the minimalist pop sound that became an unexpected powerhouse during the 2010s with artists such as Lorde and Lana Del Rey. But it's the dueling vocals between Oliver Sim and Romy that set this apart. Even when they are lyrically cast as opposing forces, their voices carry one another. The minimal instrumentation helps keep their voices centered, but the simplicity also makes every track distinct and instantly catchy. Making such an intense soundscape with so few elements takes serious talent.

And then there's "Intro," the little song that could. So many albums start with a short little piece that is easily forgotten by track two, yet "Intro" has become an unexpected cultural force, sitting at over half a billion streams on Spotify (just 2 million shy of Single Ladies by Beyonce from the same year, for reference). It does what every instrumental intro song wishes it could do, capturing the spirit of the album that follows with such power that it stands on its own. With "Intro," it was no surprise Jamie xx would launch a successful solo career as an electronic artist.

My ranking:
Crystalised
Islands
Intro
VCR
Infinity
Shelter
Heart Skipped a Beat
Stars
Night Time
Basic Space
Fantasy