When There’s Nothing There

The xx “Basic Space”

When I first encountered The xx, my impression was something along the lines of “Wait, why did we need a less sexy and catchy version of The Kills?” But that wasn’t fair, mainly because despite some superficial similarities, The xx are going for a different type of sexiness and are talented at crafting subtle hooks from their minimal grooves and atmospheric guitar parts. The male/female vocal dynamic is different too. Jamie Hince knows enough to allow Alison Mosshart dominate their songs, but Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim are on equal ground in nearly every track, trading off parts more often than overlapping. There’s a lot of tension in this, but some of it is unintentional: Madley Croft’s voice is dramatically superior to that of Sim, and whereas he has a passable, drowsy tone, the songs light up when she starts singing. They are simply in different leagues, and I find it hard to shake this “Is she really going out with him?” notion when I hear them together because it’s so much like meeting some gorgeous, immensely interesting woman and her shockingly drab boyfriend. Sim is an acquired taste, and I’m getting more acclimated to his charms. At their best, the two approximate a much less creepy version of the dynamic Tricky and Martina Topley-Bird achieved on Maxinquaye and Pre-Millenium Tension. They could take this further, but where they are is just fine — it probably wouldn’t be a good idea for Sim to develop a more sinister affect, and throughout the record and particularly on “Basic Space,” the band are wise enough to employ Madley Croft’s voice like a special effect when they need to push the dynamic of their music over the top.

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