There’s a whiff of excitement in the air tonight as a thousand people cram into Sydney’s the Metro. Feeling like Charlie from the Chocolate Factory with golden tickets in tow, the crowd are here to witness The xx.
Warming up the audience is local act Flume, aka. Harley Streten, the latest whiz kid producer/DJ from Australia. Smooth beats with underlying layers of deep electronic sounds defines his set as he crosses multiple genres. His mix of electronic music draws comparisons to Toro Y Moi and Moderat and he throws in a mix of fellow locals, including New Navy’s ‘Zimbabwe’ to round things off.
A highly impressive support act, you can throw Streten into a group that consists of Nicholas Jaar, John Talabot and yes, Jamie xx. It feels like he’s learnt a trick or two from his European counterparts and if Flume could mix the songs in more seamlessly together we could find him in dance tents on the festival circuit in no time.
The xx are about to release their much anticipated sophomore album Coexist in September so it’s somewhat a surprise they’ve taken a break from the European Summer festival circuit to pop into Australia for a quick two-stop promo tour.
The atmospheric English indie pop group – consisting of Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, and Jamie Smith – play to a vastly different setting from their first visit which saw them in mid afternoon slots on the Laneway Festival circuit three years ago. Still in their trademark black attire, they open with current new single ‘Angels’.
Madley Croft’s breathless voice and shimmering guitar enrapture, until the chorus – where the crowd joins in, almost drowning out the singer with the refrain of “being/ as in love with you as I am”. It’s quite the introduction, not only at how strikingly beautiful the music is, but the devotion of the fans of to know the words of a song only released a couple of weeks prior to the show.
All the favourites are played, which included ‘Islands’, ‘Heart Skipped A Beat’, ‘Basic Space’, ‘VCR’ and ‘Crystallised’; and as promised in recent interviews – they have re-worked some songs giving them a new lease on life with a fresher sound and have clearly benefited from the Jamie xx treatment. His experiences of mixing and producing for the likes of Gil Scott Heron have created a band sound that has more texture without losing their gift of musical restraint.
Back in 2010 you felt they were still learning their craft during live performances. This is not the case anymore and there is clearly more confidence in their abilities on stage since being signed by Young Turks. In particular, Madley Croft vocally sounds stronger and more assured. Even the occasional missed beat by Smith, who still plays the drum pad with his fingers, adds to the allure. The stage itself is beautifully lit and whereas once was a table cloth with XX on it, tonight there is a large X behind them – changing colors to reflect the new album’s artwork.
The stylishly moody and soulful indie rock is still there on newer tracks played tonight in all five new songs. However, it is perhaps ‘Reunion’ flowing into ‘Sunset’ that offers some insight into where they may be heading. It’s slow building and takes flight mid-way through the song. With the smoke machine cranking and the light show in full effect, the Metro is starting to heave like a club night.
Its a clear sign The xx been listening to more house music lately. In recent interviews with Madley Croft, she describes the complete contradiction of the combination of people dancing to sad music yet having an amazing time as utterly fascinating yet heartbreaking. It’s also worth noting that Smith engineered the new album with the live performance in mind so the clean guitar lines we hear are never lost but more pronounced as they linger.
They may sing about love and relationships, but it’s the marriage with the lyrics and music itself that compels the listener. It’s sad, sparse and emotive as ever.
The final song of the night, ‘Stars’, is a perfect example of how entwined the vocal interplay is with the simple keys from the piano almost holding them together: “cause we can give it time/so much time with me“.
The xx are still captivating and cool, with intimate songwriting at its best. Let’s hope this never changes.
– Jeffers Chew
