The xx - Chained

The words ‘Coexist’ and ‘Chained’ both share one common theme: Togetherness and connection, two things the xx are known experts on, if ever their self-titled debut of Goodness Knows How Long Ago needed to be a reference point.

However, gone are the heady days of watching VCRs in chilly London bedsits. Oliver Sim and Romy Madley-Croft are now singing from a different sheet. ‘Chained’’s mantra of “we used to be closer than this” speaks of said connections drifting apart - quite the opposite of the glorious fusion of colours shown in the video above, and for that of ‘Angels’. But The xx handle heartbreak with as much aplomb as they would a blooming friendship, by again making intimacy the central component of their songs. Sim and Madley-Croft never delve into any sorry self-indulgence lyrically, and they speak their words plain and true, sounding within mere inches of the ears these songs spill out into.

Jamie xx, now at the forefront of the band’s appeal, creates a deftly applied bed of seeping synthetics and sharp beats - nothing too showy, but enough to entice. His bandmates are the focus here: Even when shedding out monosyllabic, crooning “oooh”’s, they sound fascinating when singing as a pair. It all the more confirms that very little has changed from the sounds that graced the band’s first work, only this time you sense that all three members are wholly aware of where their talents lie, and they’re not afraid to show them off.