Category: The xx

The Great Gatsby has to have the soundtrack of the year, right? Everything we’ve heard so far has been amazing, and it seems like the tracklist is a who’s who of pop in 2013. The newest release from the soundtrack is this song, “Together,” by The xx. The first three minutes of the song are exactly what we’ve come to expect from these guys: sparse, sensual, and subdued. Then, the strings come in the whole dynamic changes and the track goes from good to great. Listen below.

Take a listen to the soundtrack sampler for the soundtrack to the upcoming Leo Dicaprio movie, The Great Gatsby.The sampler is noticeably missing the two most anticipated songs (Jay-Z – “100$ Bill”, Beyoncé and André 3000 – Back to Black”).

Video tracklisting:
1. Bang Bang – will.i.am (0:01)
2. A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got) – Fergie, Q Tip & GoonRock (0:31)
3. Young And Beautiful – Lana Del Rey (1:01)
4. Love Is The Drug – Bryan Ferry with The Bryan Ferry Orchestra (1:32)
5. Over The Love – Florence & The Machine (2:03)
6. Where The Wind Blows – Coco O. of Quadron (2:33)
7. Crazy in Love – Emeli Sandé and The Bryan Ferry Orchestra (3:04)
8. Together – The xx (3:34)
9. Hearts A Mess – Gotye (4:06)
10. Love Is Blindness – Jack White (4:35)
11. Into the Past – Nero (5:06)
12. Kill and Run – Sia (5:36)

The xx stopped by BBC Radio 1′s Live Lounge Late to perform their cover of the 2000 single “Finally” by house producer Kings of Tomorrow. Listen below.

The xx’s most recent album was somewhat of a disappointment to me considering how much I love the first, but Coexist has grown on me a bit since its release. The trio stopped by NPR’s World Cafe a few days ago to talk to with host David Dye and play a few of their songs in the studio. The band played the album versions of “Angels,” “Fiction” and “Sunset” but decided to change it up and play a new version of “Chained” for the listeners. The xx are also going to be hitting the festival circuit as well as touring with Grizzly Bear this summer so be sure to check out their dates to see if they’re playing near you.

I’ll be the first to admit that The xx’s Coexist is nowhere near as good as the group’s debut. Still, the new album had some highlights that I would put up there on the same level as some of the highlights from xx. “Sunset” is one such song, and it seems as though Jamie xx couldn’t leave the already fantastic track alone. It’s not often that a producer goes back and reworks a track he put together in the first place, but in this instance it worked like a charm.

Everyone knows that “Last Christmas” is the best Christmas song ever created. I’ll listen to just about any cover of it because it’s just that good (except yours, Taylor Swift), and The xx’s rendition is no exception.  The cover has an unmistakably xx-feel to it, and Romy and Oliver’s tag team approach adds another dimension to the Christmas classic. Merry xxmas, indeed.

Pitchfork.tv’s newest documentary is on indie blog darlings The xx. The three-part series gives us an inside look at their recording process, rehearsals and live shows, and also features performances of several songs from Coexist.

Everyone’s favorite Brits stopped by Dermot O’Leary’s BBC Radio 2 show the other day and performed two acoustic songs while they were there. The xx released a cover of Womack & Womack’s “Teardrops” back in 2009 when they released xx, but the acoustic version sounds even better if you ask me.

The xx link up with Young Republicant to direct the most recent visuals from their latest album Coexist.

The xx stopped by Seattle’s KEXP 90.3 FM and performed ”Fiction,” “Reunion,” “Sunset” and “Angels”, while also giving a short interview. Coexist out now.