There have been a lot of very gloomy days over the past week, filled with freezing temperatures, gray skies and drizzle. Maybe it’s a sign of things to come, or maybe it’s a sign that we need to be listening to more gloomy music. I can’t say which it is for certain, but I’m assuming it’s the latter.
For this reason, my week has so far been filled with lots of Radiohead, a little bit of Portishead and a rediscovery of the first album from bleak Indie darlings, The XX. I’d forgotten how great the band’s self-titled debut was, and how omnipresent tracks like “Intro” and “Chrystalised” were when they first came out back in 2010.
I also vividly remember buying this on CD from HMV in Sheffield and being wowed by the cutout design on the front that revealed the white lyric book inside. Oh how easy it is to amaze a teenager.
Anyway, my standout track on this album has always been “Fantasy,” the spooky, bassy and almost entirely instrumental track that segways from one hopeful track into the record’s bleaker themes. It’s great, and if you’re fortunate enough to have a good set of subwoofers on your car stereo, it’s sure to shake you awake on the drive to work this morning. Enjoy!