The XX

if neither band had been written about on this site & the rest of internet to the extent that they have been there would be no grounds for comparison, but this is the world that were are living in spinspin sugah & u are going to have to deal with it

i guess i like xx better than treats. me and my roommate were whistling the 'you don't know ba da ba da ba na na na' melody the other day & trying to figure out what it was

wait what?

yknow one of those melodies on the sleigh bells album

point is that album contains at the very least one (1) catchy melody

no i'm talking about your first graph

oh, i think the comparison is more ito acclaimed new bands of similar magnitude w/ arguably some rn'b influence blowin up and being divisive on ilx/internet, rather than that they sound really similar

well i think the point is all of those things but they DON'T sound similar -- it's minimalism & space vs maximalism & trebly noise right?

i guess--it's a dreadful, superficial comparison and i don't know why we just need to accept it

i don't think it's dreadful when all people are saying is "that band everyone was going nuts over & saying similar things about last year was way better imo." like that is the extent of the comparison going on right

I was going more for jordan's thing i.e. they occupy two opposites of the sonic spectrum. and also they have both received a fair amount of 'indie buzz'. I find it useful to articulate my disgust w/ sleigh bells by saying "I'd rather listen to the XX" instead but obv. it may only work for me

which reminds me, how much the xx remind me of the Smashing Pumpkins album Adore.

Adore was awful and had the worst lyrics, though.

ur wrong. lots of greatness; Ava Adore (despite unfortunate opening couplet), Blank Page, the run from Tear to Shame. But mostly I'm talking about the New Order/Cure steez-copping both albums are guilty of.

that band everyone was going nuts over & saying similar things about last year was way better imo."

but what were these similar things being said?

the buzz surrounding Sleigh Bells died down months ago

they play XX on the "alternative" radio station around here, so they're definitely getting bigger

they're one of the few "big name" indie acts that people who generally dislike indie enjoy

loooool @ calling XX "big name" though

lol @ u autolooooling

i wonder if they get sick of playing the same couple songs every night

sleeping on the big pile of money being an indie buzz band brings probably helps keeping them from getting sick

im ill, not sick

*deal with it*

fads and phrases and annoying things we are sick of 2009

so no genre's anymore, we're just judging things based on levels of "buzz"?

spinspin sugah not really generating any 'buzz' itt

so no genre's anymore, we're just judging things based on levels of "buzz"?

see 1987 for reference

I was 3, but I see your point.

depending on the month I either was or was not born!!!

shroedinger's kid

xpost

Yo, dayo. I haven't been on this site as long as I have because I need congrats from electronic strangers. I just come for the tips 'n' leads.

...um, i come for congrats from electronic strangers. :(

Congrats!

jamie's solo single is really good

http://pitchfork.com/news/40241-listen-debut-solo-track-from-the-xxs-jamie-smith/

yeah i dig this - great loop

seriously, this is great

it's like... dubstep + the flair of hercules & love affair

this is the only album ever where i've experienced the dinner party cliche in actual reality

I was at a private beach bar thingy in Nice a few weeks ago and they played this and Sade's greatest hits on rotation several times, it worked perfectly. The background music cliche works because it actually does make for great background music.

If we're gonna play "compare to other feted indie stuff" I'd probably talk about Gayngs and How To Dress Well rather than Sleigh Bells - the former two actually sounding like how The XX press releases et. al. read.

still havent heard how to dress well!

dont know if that really needed an exclamation mark

Had the brief opportunity to interact with Romy from XX; still unsure of the gender of Romy from XX

that's not very nice

solo single sounds like something oneman would play. its okay i suppose. reminds me of hot chips production for kano recently - a tiny bit anemic.

do like the xx album, mainly musically though as i find their vocals a bit lacking in gravitas. they sound a bit too young.

do like the xx album, mainly musically though as i find their vocals a bit lacking in gravitas. they sound a bit too young.

?? the vocals are the best bit.

no the best bits are the minimalism of the production/songs, the clarity of the sonics, and the guitar tone. well i do love how R&B the girl sounds, but i tended to find that all that ache in their voices doesnt quite hit home for me.

what are how to dress well?

i heard a gayngs youtube and thought it as reprehensible as the band description on paper (bon iver and other indie losers "do" r&b, JUST WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR, because actual r&b artists doing r&b is obviously inadequate, why is no one devoting that much time and praise to fantasia and k. michelle?)

re: xx,i agree that the arrangements and rigorous aesthetic are as crucial to their quality as the vocals, but they're both so wrapped up in each other that i don't know how you can separate them really - romy's voice is amazing in or out of context i guess, though oliver's is probably only good as a subdued counterpoint to romy and the arrangements.

they're nice people btw. did i mention that they came to my r&b club night? last thing i saw was romy schmoozing ikonika as we were clearing up.

i did spend half the album wondering what it would be like if aaliyah was singing it though i dont think that would actually result in a better album

but i like how theyve absorbed ideas of minimalism and spare song construction (the actual *music* is barely there on this, its not just the production) from R&B and dubstep etc so totally - thats what attracts me to them more than the slightly inept singing (i do like it, dont get me wrong, but im not yet totally convinced that they totally achieve that sense of engulfing lovelorn emotion that theyre obviously really striving for, not like someone like say, bilinda butcher for example)

jamie has a new song that he made himself, it sounds a bit like dubstep

there's a video of the XX covering "Show Me Love" by Robin S. which sort of sums up everything i can't stand about them

like, where are the robin s's and alison moyets of today? why must every new band be some awkward whispery flock of baby egrets?

are you saying you prefer a flock of seagulls to the XX?

Lex you won't like How To Dress Well.

i heard a gayngs youtube and thought it as reprehensible as the band description on paper (bon iver and other indie losers "do" r&b, JUST WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR, because actual r&b artists doing r&b is obviously inadequate, why is no one devoting that much time and praise to fantasia and k. michelle?)

This is how the XX were sold by a lot of people initially, and it wasn't until I was able to push that bs out of my mind that I could start to like them.

i did spend half the album wondering what it would be like if aaliyah was singing it though i dont think that would actually result in a better album

See what i mean.

like, where are the robin s's and alison moyets of today? why must every new band be some awkward whispery flock of baby egrets?

I dunno, Florence has a "big" voice but it's not to the good.

i'm guessing the robin s's and alison moyets of today aren't to be found in new indie bands! (new robin s = katy b, not really familiar w/moyet but someone like florence maybe, so be careful what you wish for.)

i'll take the xx's vocals over that almost aggressive inability to sing usually exhibited in hyped indie bands like vampire weekend and wavves and whoever.

ha xp re florence

Eh, Florence is all right

also, dude in Vampire Weekend sings very well