Oakland's Vinyl Vault - xx

It's the 21st century, and this week we're actually going to listen to some music from it! Yes, not all of my vinyl is 30+ years old.  So, this week enjoy the eponymous debut album from the xx.

Release date: August 17, 2009
Singles: Cystalised, Basic Space, Islands, VCR

Before I get into the music, let me comment on the cover design for this album.  The black part of the cover you see above is the outer cover, with an x cut out, with the inner sleeve being white.  While this is a nice idea and looks good on its own, it is rather annoying for storage purposes. This is because if you try to slide an album in next to this one, it invariably gets caught up in the x cutout part, and you end up damaging the xx cover.

Anyway, once you get over that fact and put the record on the turntable, everything gets better.  The music is simple and rhythmic, and the vocals are captivating.  The result is a album that is great to listen to.  It is not overpowering, so makes great background music for most activities, or you can simply close your eyes, lie down and enjoy it.

Rating: 6 thumbs up - The rhythms and vocals of the songs combine in such a way that seems to get instantly stuck in your head.  There is just something about the simple arrangements and wonderful vocals that is really quite enthralling.  I encourage you to check it out.

This album was well received critically, and things are looking good for the future of the xx.  You can really see the joy on their faces in this music video for "Crystalised."



Pat is crazy.