The XX

[Madyaker]

Anyone else not that impressed with the new album? Lips is nice, maybe the rest of it will grow on me.

[Titters]

9 hours ago, Winslow Leach said:

Okay I've let it sink in. The album goes:

Great opening salvo:
Dangerous
Say Something Loving
Lips
A Violent Noise

Okay, nice production, but a bit forgettable and retreading old ground:
Performance
Replica
Brave For You

Back to being good but lost some momentum:
On Hold
I Dare You
Test Me

Popped by to say pretty much this. 

 

Those three tracks in the middle are hard work. 'Pop to the bar' tracks. 

I think live show will be good, and different to previous gigs - Much bigger sound. 

[The Placid Casual]

11 hours ago, Winslow Leach said:

Okay I've let it sink in. The album goes:

Great opening salvo:
Dangerous
Say Something Loving
Lips
A Violent Noise

Okay, nice production, but a bit forgettable and retreading old ground:
Performance
Replica
Brave For You

Back to being good but lost some momentum:
On Hold
I Dare You
Test Me

 

I think they've made a mistake by failing to create a clear enough distinction between the band and Jamie xx's solo work. I actually wonder if they should have held back tracks like SeeSaw, Stranger in a Room and Loud Places for this album.

Jamie xx may as well go off on his own, but the guys in the xx are his m8s

[Noeliam]

I really love the album. Been listening to it with proper earphones and speakers. The bass is incredible (that opening in Lips). I also think that their voices are better together than ever before. I Dare You is outstanding.

I pretty much like every one of the songs on it! 

[mjsell]

Yeah all you naysayers can do one (in the nicest possible way) - I genuinely think the album is fantastic. I'd say the only songs I'm not that into are Brave for You and Test Me.

[fred quimby]

I'm Enjoying It, playing it in dark spaces seem to help.

 

Did pop in for the CD and then the collector took over and I came out with the box set. Have not had chance to hear the other CD yet ( a few extra tracks)

[Tartan_Glasto]

I'm new to The XX, having only really paid attention to the two first songs released for the new album. I really enjoy them but the album itself isn't really grabbing me. However, providing no major clashes, I'll check them out at Glastonbury if they're there as a lot of you seem to rate them pretty highly live.

[dentalplan]

13 hours ago, The Placid Casual said:

Jamie xx may as well go off on his own, but the guys in the xx are his m8s

I think Romy could do well on her own. She's got a fantastic voice and I'm sure there'd be all sorts of ballin' producers ready to work with her. Dunno how Oli would get on - not as well, I'd expect.

[addicted2noise]

After one listen the album has has some very good moments like Dangerous which is a great opener but it would've maybe been better as an instrumental. As talented as they are I think their insistence on having the vocals front and center for every song is starting to make a lot of their stuff sound a little repetitive (and is maybe why many prefer In Colour to everything else), saying that I definitely prefer it to their last album.     

[Tartan_Glasto]

4 hours ago, Tartan_Glasto said:

I'm new to The XX, having only really paid attention to the two first songs released for the new album. I really enjoy them but the album itself isn't really grabbing me. However, providing no major clashes, I'll check them out at Glastonbury if they're there as a lot of you seem to rate them pretty highly live.

It's already growing on me having listened to it on the way home there.

Defo prefer the female vocal.

[swede]

On 15/01/2017 at 1:08 PM, Winslow Leach said:

Okay I've let it sink in. The album goes:

Great opening salvo:
Dangerous
Say Something Loving
Lips
A Violent Noise

Okay, nice production, but a bit forgettable and retreading old ground:
Performance
Replica
Brave For You

Back to being good but lost some momentum:
On Hold
I Dare You
Test Me

 

I think they've made a mistake by failing to create a clear enough distinction between the band and Jamie xx's solo work. I actually wonder if they should have held back tracks like SeeSaw, Stranger in a Room and Loud Places for this album.

Performance has the potential to be a stunner live if they make it all about Romy

A violent noise is my favourite at the moment, but it keeps changing from listen to listen 

Outstanding album for me and I'm not that big a fan of the previous two 

Lookinh forward to seeing them live for the first time in Nottingham in March 

[The_Amazing_Oblong]

I'm about half way through I see you - currently playing Replica - aaand that's as far as it gets. What a plain boring record. Would definitely swerve at the festival.

[Tartan_Glasto]

21 minutes ago, The_Amazing_Oblong said:

I'm about half way through I see you - currently playing Replica - aaand that's as far as it gets. What a plain boring record. Would definitely swerve at the festival.

From what I've listened to, which is admittedly only the new album, I'd say they're a a great afternoon band. Defo not a headliner band for me, I know they have been and are to many. I just don't get that vibe from them, although I do enjoy the new album now.

[mjsell]

29 minutes ago, Tartan_Glasto said:

From what I've listened to, which is admittedly only the new album, I'd say they're a a great afternoon band. Defo not a headliner band for me, I know they have been and are to many. I just don't get that vibe from them, although I do enjoy the new album now.

Ha, I see them as the complete opposite. The atmospheric nature of their act is lost in daylight. Maybe could work with a sunset but they are a night band every day of the week for me.

[stuartbert two hats]

1 minute ago, mjsell said:

Ha, I see them as the complete opposite. The atmospheric nature of their act is lost in daylight. Maybe could work with a sunset but they are a night band every day of the week for me.

Not on a Tuesday though.  Early night on a Tuesday.

[mjsell]

4 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

Not on a Tuesday though.  Early night on a Tuesday.

Unfortunate for those with tickets on the 14th March @ brixton.

[Tartan_Glasto]

19 minutes ago, mjsell said:

Ha, I see them as the complete opposite. The atmospheric nature of their act is lost in daylight. Maybe could work with a sunset but they are a night band every day of the week for me.

I just prefer something a little more punchy for later in the day. Just totally a personal preference. Barring no major clashes, I'll defo be checking them out either way.

[Quark]

On 1/13/2017 at 4:53 PM, dentalplan said:

I have nothing nice to say about the album.

Not a fan of them in general or just this album dental?

[mjsell]

53 minutes ago, Tartan_Glasto said:

I just prefer something a little more punchy for later in the day. Just totally a personal preference. Barring no major clashes, I'll defo be checking them out either way.

Oh yeah, you wouldnt go and see them expecting a party. But that doesnt mean it wouldnt be a great set. At festivals I tend to want a mixture with my three nights - 1 party vibe, 1 sing along vibe and 1 slow and moody, the XX tick my slow and moody box.

I saw them a few years back at Bestival when they subheadlined (must have been 2012/2013) they were good then but not anything outstanding. I'd hope they have get better since then, and with these new songs I'm pretty confident they will be.

[No Cars Go]

3 minutes ago, mjsell said:

Oh yeah, you wouldnt go and see them expecting a party. But that doesnt mean it wouldnt be a great set. At festivals I tend to want a mixture with my three nights - 1 party vibe, 1 sing along vibe and 1 slow and moody, the XX tick my slow and moody box.

I saw them a few years back at Bestival when they subheadlined (must have been 2012/2013) they were good then but not anything outstanding. I'd hope they have get better since then, and with these new songs I'm pretty confident they will be.

I'd defy anyone who saw them headline the other in 2013 to classify it as 'slow and moody' it was pretty much the opposite - party and sing along even. Easily up there with the best sets I've witnessed at Glastonbury and as you say throw in this new album and some Jamie XX tracks from in colour and you have a very exciting set in prospect.

[dentalplan]

1 hour ago, Quark said:

Not a fan of them in general or just this album dental?

I like them it's just this album blows. They've made an unsubtle grab at In Colour's success and the installation of Romy and Oli doing their usual thing over it doesn't really work for me and has resulted in a very uninspired, monotonous slog of a record. I mean, the most memorable moments are parts where it's just Jamie's sampling and mixing - and I'm not even as big a fan of Jamie's stuff as I am The xx's previous stuff. But, the critics and fans seem to love it so I guess they'll continue down this route.

15 minutes ago, No Cars Go said:

I'd defy anyone who saw them headline the other in 2013 to classify it as 'slow and moody' it was pretty much the opposite - party and sing along even. Easily up there with the best sets I've witnessed at Glastonbury and as you say throw in this new album and some Jamie XX tracks from in colour and you have a very exciting set in prospect.

It was 'slow and moody' from my experience of the same set. Doesn't mean it was bad or not exciting.

IRT their placement on the bill, I still don't see them mastering a transition to the Pyramid with this record. It's still pretty downbeat and I think it'd lend itself better to a set in the dark on the Other Stage. It's true that they did that last time and deserve a step up but they only played for around an hour last time so I'm sure a return in a full 90 minute set would still be a step up.

[No Cars Go]

32 minutes ago, dentalplan said:

I like them it's just this album blows. They've made an unsubtle grab at In Colour's success and the installation of Romy and Oli doing their usual thing over it doesn't really work for me and has resulted in a very uninspired, monotonous slog of a record. I mean, the most memorable moments are parts where it's just Jamie's sampling and mixing - and I'm not even as big a fan of Jamie's stuff as I am The xx's previous stuff. But, the critics and fans seem to love it so I guess they'll continue down this route.

It was 'slow and moody' from my experience of the same set. Doesn't mean it was bad or not exciting.

IRT their placement on the bill, I still don't see them mastering a transition to the Pyramid with this record. It's still pretty downbeat and I think it'd lend itself better to a set in the dark on the Other Stage. It's true that they did that last time and deserve a step up but they only played for around an hour last time so I'm sure a return in a full 90 minute set would still be a step up.

See for me I was expecting it to be slow but I came away thinking that the beat never really stopped, I was two rows from the front though so that may have influenced my take on it.. 

Last time they played wasn't it billed that the pumpkins were the actual headliners? or was that just something concocted from within efests? If not then maybe them as the outright headliner and the extended time and then yeah it can be seen as a step up perhaps. 

[FloorFiller]

2 minutes ago, No Cars Go said:

Last time they played wasn't it billed that the pumpkins were the actual headliners? or was that just something concocted from within efests? If not then maybe them as the outright headliner and the extended time and then yeah it can be seen as a step up perhaps. 

That was something we pieced together as a possibility considering Smashing Pumpkins got five minutes more (an hour fifteen - what most Other headliners get)

If The xx did end up headlining Other this year I doubt they'd get given the extended hour and a half set though, so would basically get the same length set as they would subbing Pyramid/five minutes longer than last time

[Pilgrim S]

I thought they were pretty good the last time they played but if anything ruined it, it was that Portishead blew them away 2 days before and for me, they're similar genres. Through the XX set I just kept thinking, it's not as good as Portishead. It was ok, it just made me realise how much of a step up they could make.

I think I prefered it when they headlined The Park.

[stuartbert two hats]

37 minutes ago, No Cars Go said:

See for me I was expecting it to be slow but I came away thinking that the beat never really stopped, I was two rows from the front though so that may have influenced my take on it.. 

Last time they played wasn't it billed that the pumpkins were the actual headliners? or was that just something concocted from within efests? If not then maybe them as the outright headliner and the extended time and then yeah it can be seen as a step up perhaps. 

It was a nonsense concocted by Smashing Pumpkins fans in denial.