It's after midnight and I'm speeding down city streets, the air is cool, and fragrances of desert flowers are in the air. I contemplate the last few years I've spent trying to find myself, purpose, and love. Air brushes so swiftly across my face it's difficult to breath and the Xx's song Intro is playing on my stereo. Without words this song describes exactly how I feel, cold on the outside yet hot in my heart, sad but deeply at peace, but mostly contemplative. There comes a point in your life when everything you've seen, felt, and accomplished leads to the realization that being a good person and happy is not enough, there is something else that must be present to bring one peace. I once heard that by 22, Ghandi had 3 kids; Motzart, 37 symphonies; and Buddy Holly was dead. What got them through despite hard circumstances was they believed in what they were doing, they knew they were creating something important. For many, including the Xx's, the need to create is that peace even when the world feels it is in turmoil. I think when you don't have that peace of mind, despite great effort, one feels a crushing desire to flee. Some nights before I fall asleep I get an itch too get in my car and drive. To move across deserts, into the plains, past oceans, then through to the south hiding somewhere media doesn't follow and dreams come to die. This desire to accomplish yet also to escape, despite experiences of love and passion is what the Xx's album is all about. Described as the voice of young London for good reason, many of their songs were written when the band members were between 16-19. The band expounds that many tracks were recorded late at night in garage studios helping us to understand their hushed vocal duets and a brilliantly inventive use of samples. The Low-end frequencies produce stark, sweet, melancholic pop. lastfm.com The Xx's post wave sound is interesting considering their style is part goth part London punk and a splash of mod. There is an overwhelming sentiment that their music has sex as a central theme as even described as "makeout music for cool kids"... and I tend to agree. This summer's good music, is not in your face like years past, but subtle and almost a background soundtrack for our lives. While not a household name yet, the Xx's have been featured widely in the media and noted as rising stars.
