XX - Coexist

A watery flow, minute, deflagrating. A languid, seductive breath, yet at the same time understated. Silence and ecstasy, both measured, one unfolding into the other. The cool air of a summer night, melancholic and nostalgic, free. Delicate persuasion, a slow and progressive process. And finally, the long-awaited conclusion: they've pulled it off again.

In 2009, XX had debuted with that blend of shoegaze, acoustic intimacy and melody that bore their own name, astonishing many and drawing attention right from the start. For a band capable of such a debut, it could have been hard to repeat themselves or confirm their promise, to breathe new life into their own inspiration. It could have been, but for them, at least on the surface, it wasn't. And "Coexist" is the most natural and effortless follow-up imaginable, the most likely evolution. And yet, its power is even more overwhelming, even more astonishing.

The reasons lie, first of all, in the path the three seem to have chosen to take: that of purity, of simple complexity. It's an emotion soaked in cold tears that makes up the nine miniatures – only "Swept Away" runs past the three-minute mark – on "Coexist". Serene tears, leading into a journey through open space where there is no boundary nor edge: a limbo, in some ways, that Croft, Sim and Smith furnish moment by moment, shifting its colours, scents and sounds in a kaleidoscope of continuous catharsis.

Secondly, it's the musical form itself that breaks down even further, taking on new elements: the already fragile melodic framework becomes even more delicate and intangible; the rhythm stretches out – when it doesn't disappear altogether – and faint electronic pulses, carried straight from the world of dubstep, run through the winding yet limpid emotional pathways.

So we start from emptiness: and "Angels", also chosen as the lead single, begins its journey amid placid keyboards reminiscent of Sigur Rós, before they fade away to make room for Croft's warm, sensual voice. "And the end is unknown, but I think I'm ready as long as you're with me": as these words strike straight to the heart, the instruments stop, as if to let the voice alone, in its entirety, make them sink in. The atmosphere is still empty and already rarefied; but here and there, structures begin to take shape, materializing in the vocal duet between Croft and Sim on "Chained", in the hypnotic, lulling beats of "Fiction", or in the soothing à-la-Slowdive slowdown of "Try".

The two voices intertwine again in the electronic ballad "Sunset", perhaps the most uptempo track, not far from the latest Hundred In The Hands, and in the understated comedown of "Unfold", where Mazzy Star brush glances with Codeine. The pieces gradually take shape, intersecting with one another: it's a portrait that lives on imperceptible nuances, a rainbow opening up in the night sky. And while "Missing" spatters its pale fabric with black pitch, following the primordial lesson of Jesus And Mary Chain, the flash of light comes with "Swept Away", driven by a pulsing heart over which the two voices once again trade messages and effusions.

It's "Our Song" that brings things to a close, a romantic unison that completes the circle by returning to the light, suspended atmospheres of "Angels". "The walls I hide behind, you walk through, you just walk trough".

The Xx have pulled it off again. Able to range across sensations, stories and memories, "Coexist" is a record whose poetics are anything but immediate, one that needs silence and calm for its delicate roots to sink in gently and carry you, at a dilated pace, deep into its intimacy — an environment in which its pale beauty becomes irresistible. "You know the way I can't resist you, I said to myself I'd try": in the end it's not hard, you just have to try.

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01/09/2012