xx (album)

xx
Studio album by The xx
Released 17 August 2009
Recorded December 2008 – April 2009;
XL Studios
(West London, England)
Genre Indie pop
Length 38:34
Label Young Turks
Producer Jamie Smith
Singles from xx
  1. "Crystalised"
    Released: 27 April 2009[1]
  2. "Basic Space"
    Released: 3 August 2009[2]
  3. "Islands"
    Released: 26 October 2009
  4. "VCR"
    Released: 24 January 2010
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic (87/100)[3]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [4]
Robert Christgau (A)[5]
The Guardian [6]
The New York Times (favourable)[7]
NME (8/10)[8]
Pitchfork Media (8.7/10)[9]
PopMatters (8/10)[10]
Rolling Stone [11]
Slant Magazine [12]
The Times [13]

xx is the debut studio album by English indie pop group The xx, released on 17 August 2009 by Young Turks.[14] The self-produced album was recorded at XL Studios in West London between December 2008 and April 2009. The album was awarded the 2010 Mercury Prize.[15] xx spent eighty-seven weeks on the UK Albums Chart,[16] and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.[17]

Contents

Reception

Initial critical response to xx was largely positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album was met with universal acclaim receiving an average score of 87, based on 25 reviews.[3] Music critics noted elements of post-punk, indie pop and R&B in the album's music.[4][7][9][12][13] The album won the 2010 Mercury Prize.[15]

xx rated highly in several publications' lists of the best albums of 2009. The album was placed at number two on NME's 2009 albums of the year poll,[18] and won XFM's New Music Award 2010.[19] FACT magazine named xx the best album of 2009 and the fifty-third best album of the 2000–09 decade.[20][21] It ranked fourth on the Chicago Tribune's list of the twenty best albums of 2009.[22] Pitchfork Media listed it as the third best album of 2009.[23] In addition, The Guardian named it as 2009's top album of their Top 50 Critics Poll.[24]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim, except where noted, all music composed by Croft, Sim, Jamie Smith and Baria Qureshi, except where noted.

No. Title Length
1. "Intro"   2:07
2. "VCR"   2:57
3. "Crystalised"   3:21
4. "Islands"   2:40
5. "Heart Skipped a Beat"   4:02
6. "Fantasy" (lyrics by Sim) 2:38
7. "Shelter" (lyrics by Croft; music by Croft, Sim and Smith) 4:30
8. "Basic Space"   3:08
9. "Infinity"   5:13
10. "Night Time"   3:36
11. "Stars"   4:22

Personnel

Band
Additional

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2009–10) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[26] 40
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[27] 9
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[28] 41
Danish Albums Chart[29] 32
Dutch Albums Chart[30] 29
European Top 100 Albums[31] 12
Finnish Albums Chart[32] 10
French Albums Chart[33] 35
French Digital Albums Chart[34] 1
German Albums Chart[35] 54
Greek Albums Chart[36] 41
Irish Albums Chart[37] 14
Irish Indie Albums Chart[38] 1
New Zealand Albums Chart[39] 13
Norwegian Albums Chart[40] 23
Spanish Albums Chart[41] 73
Swedish Albums Chart[42] 39
Swiss Albums Chart[43] 52
UK Albums Chart[44] 3
UK Indie Albums Chart[45] 1
US Billboard 200[46] 92
US Rock Albums[46] 23
US Heatseekers Albums[46] 1
US Independent Albums[46] 9
US Alternative Albums[46] 14

Certifications

Country Certification
Belgium Gold[47]
United Kingdom Platinum[17]

Year-end charts

Chart (2010) Position
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[48] 18
European Top 100 Albums[49] 71
UK Albums Chart[50] 36

References

  1. ^ "YT023: The xx – Crystalised". Young Turks. http://theyoungturks.bigcartel.com/product/yt023-the-xx-crystalised. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  2. ^ "YT030: The xx – Basic Space". Young Turks. http://theyoungturks.bigcartel.com/product/yt030-the-xx-basic-space. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  3. ^ a b "xx – The xx". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. http://www.metacritic.com/music/xx. Retrieved 28 October 2009. 
  4. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "xx – The xx". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/xx-r1633666/review. Retrieved 21 September 2009. 
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: The xx". robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=6307&name=The+xx. Retrieved 12 March 2010. 
  6. ^ Simpson, Dave (14 August 2009). "The xx: 'xx'". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/aug/14/the-xx-cd-review. Retrieved 24 August 2009. 
  7. ^ a b Caramanica, Jon (11 October 2009). "Critics' Choice: New CDs". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/arts/music/12choi.html. Retrieved 18 November 2009. 
  8. ^ Mackay, Emily (11 August 2009). "Album review: The XX – 'The XX'". NME. IPC Media. http://www.nme.com/reviews/10758. Retrieved 24 August 2009. 
  9. ^ a b Gaerig, Andrew (28 August 2009). "The xx: xx". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13400-xx/. Retrieved 28 August 2009. 
  10. ^ Schumer, Ben (8 October 2009). "The xx: xx". PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/112598-the-xx-xx. Retrieved 18 November 2009. 
  11. ^ Sheffield, Rob (13 October 2009). "The xx : The xx". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on 19 October 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20091019030616/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/30221595/review/30455326/xx. Retrieved 16 March 2010. 
  12. ^ a b Cole, Matthew (2 October 2009). "The xx: xx". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/the-xx-xx/1855. Retrieved 2 October 2009. 
  13. ^ a b Edwards, Mark (16 August 2009). "The xx: xx review". The Times. Times Newspapers. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article6793672.ece. Retrieved 24 August 2009. 
  14. ^ "YT031: The xx – xx". Young Turks. http://theyoungturks.bigcartel.com/product/yt031-the-xx-xx. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  15. ^ a b "The xx win the Mercury Prize for debut album". BBC News. BBC News Online. 7 September 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11220359. Retrieved 8 September 2010. 
  16. ^ "Official UK Albums Top 100". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 23 April 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5yAXZTflS. Retrieved 23 April 2011. 
  17. ^ a b "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. 24 September 2010. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/Search.aspx. Retrieved 14 August 2011. 
  18. ^ "50 Best Albums of 2009". NME. IPC Media. http://www.nme.com/list/50-best-albums-of-2009/159978/page/5. Retrieved 9 December 2009. 
  19. ^ "Xfm New Music Award 2010 Winner Named!". XFM. 2 February 2010. http://www.xfm.co.uk/news/2010/xfm-new-music-award-2010-winner-named. Retrieved 2 February 2010. 
  20. ^ "40 best: Albums of 2009". FACT. The Vinyl Factory. 9 December 2009. http://www.factmag.com/2009/12/09/40-best-albums-of-2009/4/. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  21. ^ "100 best: Albums of the Decade". FACT. The Vinyl Factory. 1 December 2010. http://www.factmag.com/2010/12/01/100-best-albums-of-the-decade/5/. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  22. ^ Kot, Greg (9 December 2009). "Top albums of 2009". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company. http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/2009/12/top-albums-of-2009.html. Retrieved 16 December 2009. 
  23. ^ "The Top 50 Albums of 2009". Pitchfork Media. 17 December 2009. http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7744-the-top-50-albums-of-2009/5/. Retrieved 18 December 2009. 
  24. ^ Jonze, Tim (18 December 2009). "Albums of 2009, No 1: The xx – xx". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/dec/18/albums-2009-xx. Retrieved 18 December 2009. 
  25. ^ "xx by The xx". iTunes Store UK. Apple Inc.. http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/xx/id325808192. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  26. ^ "The XX – XX". Australian Recording Industry Association. Hung Medien. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+XX&titel=XX&cat=a. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  27. ^ "The XX – XX" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=The+XX&titel=XX&cat=a. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  28. ^ "The XX – XX" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/showitem.asp?interpret=The+XX&titel=XX&cat=a. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  29. ^ "The XX – XX". IFPI Denmark. Hung Medien. http://danishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+XX&titel=XX&cat=a. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  30. ^ "The XX – XX" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Hung Medien. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=The+XX&titel=XX&cat=a. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  31. ^ "European Top 20 Charts – Week Commencing 20th September 2010". Billboard. Pandora Archive. http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20101011-0000/Issue1073.pdf. Retrieved 13 November 2011. 
  32. ^ "The XX – XX". IFPI Finland. Hung Medien. http://finnishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+XX&titel=XX&cat=a. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  33. ^ "The XX – XX" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Hung Medien. http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+XX&titel=XX&cat=a. Retrieved 15 October 2009. 
  34. ^ "Le classement des téléchargements Albums" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 21 February 2010. http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/pag-260584-Telechargement-Albums.html?cid=330022. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  35. ^ "The XX, XX" (in German). Media Control. charts.de. http://www.charts.de/album.asp?artist=The+XX&title=XX&cat=a&country=de. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  36. ^ "The XX – XX". IFPI Greece. Hung Medien. http://greekcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+XX&titel=XX&cat=a. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  37. ^ "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 9 September 2010". Irish Recorded Music Association. Chart-Track. http://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p%2Fmusicvideo%2Fmusic%2Farchive%2Findex_test.jsp&ct=240002&arch=t&lyr=2010&year=2010&week=36. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  38. ^ "Top 20 Indie Individual Artist Albums". Irish Recorded Music Association. 9 September 2010. Archived from the original on 11 September 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20100911063142/http://www.irma.ie/aucharts.asp. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  39. ^ "The XX – XX". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Hung Medien. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=The+XX&titel=XX&cat=a. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  40. ^ "The XX – XX". Verdens Gang. Hung Medien. http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+XX&titel=XX&cat=a. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  41. ^ "The XX – XX". Productores de Música de España. Hung Medien. http://spanishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+XX&titel=XX&cat=a. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  42. ^ "The XX – XX". Swedish Recording Industry Association. Hung Medien. http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+XX&titel=XX&cat=a. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  43. ^ "The XX – XX". Media Control. Hung Medien. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+XX&titel=XX&cat=a. Retrieved 18 September 2009. 
  44. ^ "Xx – Xx". The Official Charts Company. Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=48536. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  45. ^ "2010 Top 40 Independent Albums Archive". The Official Charts Company. 9 October 2010. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/13/2010-10-09/. Retrieved 17 October 2010. 
  46. ^ a b c d e "xx – The xx". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/album/the-xx/xx/1280120. Retrieved 30 October 2009. 
  47. ^ "Gold and platinum certifications – Albums – 2010". Belgian Entertainment Association. Hung Medien. 5 November 2010. http://www.ultratop.be/en/certifications.asp?year=2010. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  48. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2010" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=2010&cat=a. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  49. ^ "2010 Year End Charts – European Top 100 Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/yearendcharts/2010/european-100-albums. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  50. ^ "Top 40 UK Albums of 2010". The Official Charts Company. BBC Radio 1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/2010/albums. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 

External links

Preceded by
Heligoland by Massive Attack		 French Digital Albums Chart number-one album
21 February 2010		 Succeeded by
Soldier of Love by Sade
The xx
Romy Madley Croft · Oliver Sim · Jamie Smith
Baria Qureshi
Studio albums
xx (2009)
Singles
"Crystalised"  · "Basic Space"  · "Islands"  · "VCR"
Other songs
Related
xx Tour  · We're New Here (2011)  · "Far Nearer"/"Beat For"