British indie electronic group The xx (R-L: Oliver Sim, Romy Madley Croft and Jamie Smith, AKA Jamie xx) stop by Beijing this weekend, to promote the their latest album I See You. It’s the band’s only Chinese mainland gig, so grab your tickets and get ready by checking out our essential playlist.
I SEE YOU (2017)
‘Dangerous’
And with one unexpected note – trumpets! – the first track off third album I See You signals the trio’s triumphant and decidedly more upbeat return after a five-year hiatus between albums. A brave and brilliant move, considering the years of minimalist goodwill the band had built up.
‘Replica’
Can you move forward by looking backwards? ‘Replica’ seems to ask, as Sim confronts his past in this beautiful track. Piano adds another layer of dimension while plodding bass brings depth.
COEXIST (2012)
‘Sunset’
The band perfects its restrained, bordering-on-house sound to deliver an epic post-break up song, as Madley Croft sings: “After all that we had, we act like we had never met.” The track retains a sense of urgency thanks to Jamie xx’s tight production.
‘Try’
Despite the track’s opening, which sounds like the start of a club banger, Sim soon drops in, as does Madley Croft, and the two lament failed relationships. But don’t worry, the club beat manages to sneak its way back in a few times before the otherwise relatively straight-edge electronic track peters out.
XX (2009)
‘Crystalised’
The song that started it all. You know how it goes: the guitar, the build up, the back-and-forth vocals. It’s a bit rough around the edges – the band, which then included guitarist Baria Qureshi, were in their teens at the time – but the song sounds just as unique as it did when it was on repeat back in 2009.
THE NOTORIOUS XX (2010)
‘Dead Wrong Intro’
Producer Wait What’s mash-up album (what ever happened to mash-ups?) of tunes by The xx and The Notorious B.I.G. blew up the Internet in early 2010. New York magazine called the album, “really great stuff,” and even members of The xx claimed to have enjoyed it. ‘Dead Wrong Intro ’ is the perfect, well, intro to the ingenious album, as the guitar riff seamlessly merges with Biggie chanting “B-I-G.”
Listen to some tunes by The xx
Scan the QR code to listen to The xx essential playlist (and other artists playing in Beijing in February):
Sat Feb 3, 7.30pm; RMB480-1,680; Beijing Exhibition Center, see event listing (tickets via songkick.com)
0 User Comments