With the release of their sophomore effort, Coexist, The xx strip back their already minimalist style and prove that they are, without a doubt, a band with more than a few tricks up their sleeves.
Opener “Angels” sets the tone with its ghostly guitar melodies and vocals dripping with seductive beauty. This number could have fit perfectly on their eponymous debut, but does little to further their sound.
Coexist successfully takes the most distinguishing aspects of the band’s songs – atmospheric guitar patterns, soft vocals with just enough reverb and the vague lyrics dealing with love and lust – and disregards almost anything else. It is surprising that most of these songs work, that the arrangements can stand on their feet with even less to work with, but they do.
“Swept Away” has a stunning piano melody and a thriving beat. “Missing” shows a darker side and comes up with the album’s most unique chord progression. Likewise, “Fiction” has a dark beat with even darker lyrics to go along. “Tides” attempts to incorporate some subtle strings that make the song feel overly cluttered.
Coexist owes a large part of its beauty to third member/producer Jamie xx. After breaking out on his own as a DJ, Jamie colors many of these tracks with just enough clever musical references to keep things fresh. He puts a steel drum behind “Reunion” that hints at something darker.
His production work here brings to mind the debut of another ambitious young producer, James Blake. Blake’s self titled debut uses the same weapon as Coexist: silence. Both albums have long bleak moments of silence. While Blake would break this silence with his lavish production, The xx go for softly played music that is almost as quiet as the silence itself.
As much as the production helps set the mood and create a fixed atmosphere, what breaks these songs, and this album, is the songwriting. As with their debut, The xx fill each track with lush guitar plucking and find their way to extremely catchy grooves. The “ooo’s” on “Chained” are irresistible but the song also spotlights the albums main weakness: the lyrics.
On their debut, the lyrics had small, but important details that made the songs feel extremely personal. However, on Coexist the songs come off as overly simple and vague.
The band reaches for universality but ends up returning with empty poetry. Take any song on the album and there are lost lovers looking for repentance and not finding it. However, it comes off less artistic and more like an example of lazy songwriting.
Closer “Our Song” blows those criticisms out of the water, however. On every other song, the concept surrounded different characters singing about the same situation, but here the band writes a classic duet piece. They sing in unison the line “in dark times when no one wants to/ I will give you me/ and we’ll be us.” The line feels like a genuine reflection on their relationship and is one of the album’s finest moments.
Coexist does little to show major progression in the bands sound. It does, however, stand to prove what listeners already knew: The xx is a band to keep an eye on.
