In my continued quest to be just behind the popular trends, I’ve been obsessing on the xx this week. “Crystalised” has not left my mind for days. I admit I sought the band out due to its alleged Young Marble Giants similarities…but other than a hint in the guitar/bass interplay, I don’t really hear the resemblance. If anything, the xx sound more like they’ve been obsessing on Broadcast and the early Too Pure family – one can easily imagine them opening for Pram or Laika.
I think it says something about YMG’s singularity that no one really sounds like them. Not even Confetti, whom I once spent a lot of ink and pixels comparing to Cardiff’s finest. Certainly Confetti’s arrangements were YMG-inspired – which was intentional, according to bandmember Mark – but the lyrical content was different, the production much less stark, the whole approach much less…weird.
All of which is good for the xx, who are thus forced to rely on their own devices and create something quiet and unique. I recommend them highly. (Dare we wish for an xx/X/X/Ex/xex bill? Probably not very compatible, names nonwithstanding.)
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