South London indie wonders The xx have released the second song from their forthcoming album “I See You”, due to be released on 13th January via Young Turks. The highly anticipated album follows the massively successful “XX” and “Coexist”, which garnered the band massive praise from the music press and saw many of their songs become the soundtrack to your favourite TV shows. These albums were recorded in relative isolation in London and as a result have a distant, dissonant sound that evoke an ethereal, otherworldly vibe. They could be the soundtrack to a night bus journey home in a London from a parallel universe.
New single “Say Something Loving” is the follow up to lead single “On Hold” and follows a similar change in stylistic direction, seeing the band’s sound come out of the shadows and stretch its arms in the morning light. This might be due to new album “I See You” being recorded over spring and summer in New York, Texas, Reykjavik, LA and London. This does bring a less introspective and more outward-looking and expansive feel to the sound.
Production credits go to Jamie Smith and Rodaidh McDonald and if “Say Something Loving” and “On Hold” are anything to go by, this is a bold sonic move for the band that brings a new clarity to their work and shows a group not afraid to experiment and push the boundaries put around them by the music press. The start to “Say Something Loving” is particularly nice and sounds a little like someone stumbling over a 1970s MOR station which then transmogrifies into something entirely different. There are still the signature sounds and tropes that are a staple in the band’s arsenal but these are supportive rather than front and centre and there is a real soul vibe to this new sound. We look forward to reviewing the album.
Meanwhile, the band are touring in support of the new album in 2017 and have already sold out dates in Manchester and all seven London dates. If you still want to see them you’ll have to be quick and can still get tickets for Nottingham and Cardiff. Tickets are on general sale now via http://thexx.info/tour/
Website: http://thexx.info/home/
Twitter: @The_xx
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