Coexist

Following an abundance of accolades and awards garnered for their 2009 eponymous debut album, British indie trio The xx chose not to deviate from the band’s stylistic blueprint for their 2012 follow-up Coexist. But when played back-to-back, there is a noticeable consolidation here—by stripping down instrumentation and production flourishes heard on their preceding album, these songs sound stronger, making for an immediate staying-power. The opening “Angels” infuses barebones dream-pop with subtle slivers of R&B as Romy Madley Croft inflects softly, like a young Tracey Thorn singing to a gray Sunday morning from under her bed sheets. “Chained” follows with Jamie Smith’s beats slowly catching up to the rhythm, like a cold motorbike’s engine warming to its idle. But it’s the unsettling anti-duets sung by Croft and Oliver Sim that prove to be the most gripping throughout Coexist. With a palpable tension between them, it’s as if they’re singing on opposing sides of a bedroom wall. Even when their harmonies are closer (“Swept Away”), The xx further their mastery of pulling beauty from restraint.