The xx prove that sometimes even a deafening wave of hype can’t actually do a band justice. The London-based group manages to marry what would logically seem like opposing influences: the gothy, echo-chamber guitar vibe of early 80’s 4AD bands joined with surprisingly sexy dueling boy/girl vocals. There might by a certain coldness to The xx’s sound (matched only by the band’s love of a color-free wardrobe), but it’s self-titled debut proves there is a warm heart beating underneath all of those spooky guitar lines. “Night Time” and “Crystalised” are perfectly suited for late night make outs on the dance floor, and it’s hard to imagine another band capable of covering Aaliyah’s “Hot Like Fire” and making it sound like something akin to an old Cure song. In the past year the band have toured relentlessly, playing all over the world and gracing the stage at nearly every big music festival in the US and the UK.
We had the chance to catch up with front man Oliver Sim to discuss the pressures of sudden fame and the dangers of playing music in the sun.
I saw you guys play here in NYC many months ago--it might have even been your first ever show in the states. It's crazy to think of how much has changed since then. That show was at a tiny club and your recent show here was at a huge venue. Kinda wild, huh?
Definitely. I still can't quite comprehend that we actually have an album out now. It's incredible.
There has been so much buzz about your band, even early on in your career. Did you feel a lot of pressure to live up to that?
Yeah, we did. When our album finally came out I managed to read a few things that were written about it and a lot of the feedback that I was getting from people was very positive…but since then I've tried to avoid googling the band or reading too much stuff. It's kind of scary…in the UK especially, they love to build you up one minute and then knock you down a few months later. I think we've weathered it better than most, but it's still tough. I think the real pressure will happen when we start writing again and get to work on the next album. When we were making the first album no one knew who we were yet and we were free to really work at our own pace. Next time will be a little different, I'm sure.
Did you ever imagine that being in a band would also involve spending so much time talking about yourself? Doing press can be really strange.
No, I definitely didn't. I hadn't thought about the other side to making music---doing interviews and all that. I just thought it was all about performing live, but you do spend a surprising amount of time talking. It hasn't gotten old…yet.
I know you are doing festivals this summer. How does your live show--which is quite intimate--translate onto a big stage?
Well, we did a traveling festival at the beginning at this year in Australia. We played outdoor stages in the blaring sunlight, which is the polar opposite of what we normally do. Because of our color scheme--all black--we basically melted in the sun. You can't hide behind smoke machines or lights when you play in the daytime. You have to work harder.
Journalists always portray your band as being a bunch of shy introverts. Do people have weird expectations that you're all a bunch of mopey, depressed people?
Yeah. It's funny. People expect that we all just come off stage and immediately begin to cry or something (laughs) Or that we just wallow about in the darkness all the time. I don't know. We don't actually take ourselves all that seriously and we are all generally happy people. Really!
The xx debut album is out now. Get it on iTunes.
The official XX website.
The XX on Myspace.
We had the chance to catch up with front man Oliver Sim to discuss the pressures of sudden fame and the dangers of playing music in the sun.
I saw you guys play here in NYC many months ago--it might have even been your first ever show in the states. It's crazy to think of how much has changed since then. That show was at a tiny club and your recent show here was at a huge venue. Kinda wild, huh?
Definitely. I still can't quite comprehend that we actually have an album out now. It's incredible.
There has been so much buzz about your band, even early on in your career. Did you feel a lot of pressure to live up to that?
Yeah, we did. When our album finally came out I managed to read a few things that were written about it and a lot of the feedback that I was getting from people was very positive…but since then I've tried to avoid googling the band or reading too much stuff. It's kind of scary…in the UK especially, they love to build you up one minute and then knock you down a few months later. I think we've weathered it better than most, but it's still tough. I think the real pressure will happen when we start writing again and get to work on the next album. When we were making the first album no one knew who we were yet and we were free to really work at our own pace. Next time will be a little different, I'm sure.
Did you ever imagine that being in a band would also involve spending so much time talking about yourself? Doing press can be really strange.
No, I definitely didn't. I hadn't thought about the other side to making music---doing interviews and all that. I just thought it was all about performing live, but you do spend a surprising amount of time talking. It hasn't gotten old…yet.
I know you are doing festivals this summer. How does your live show--which is quite intimate--translate onto a big stage?
Well, we did a traveling festival at the beginning at this year in Australia. We played outdoor stages in the blaring sunlight, which is the polar opposite of what we normally do. Because of our color scheme--all black--we basically melted in the sun. You can't hide behind smoke machines or lights when you play in the daytime. You have to work harder.
Journalists always portray your band as being a bunch of shy introverts. Do people have weird expectations that you're all a bunch of mopey, depressed people?
Yeah. It's funny. People expect that we all just come off stage and immediately begin to cry or something (laughs) Or that we just wallow about in the darkness all the time. I don't know. We don't actually take ourselves all that seriously and we are all generally happy people. Really!
The xx debut album is out now. Get it on iTunes.
The official XX website.
The XX on Myspace.
