Coexist

Coexist

• Music

The xx exist in a time and space of their own making. In 2009 the south London trio s debut album, <i>xx</i>, quietly made at night over the course of two years, bled steadily into the public consciousness to become shorthand for newly refined ideas of teenage desire and anxiety. Articulated with a maturity beyond their years, its hallmarks were restraint and ambiguity. In the age of the over-share, <i>xx</i> was pop with its privacy settings on max.<br><br>Three years later, Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim and Jamie Smith release <i>Coexist</i>, and a new perspective. Where <i>xx</i> lent in close to whisper in your ear, <i>Coexist</i> gazes warmly in your eyes. Much has happened to lead to this point: most pertinently, they ve grown up.<br><br>Previously cast as the quietest of the three, Jamie became the public face of The xx in 2011. In-between DJ gigs, he focused on growing his production skills, developing a distinct sound and presence. His remix of Adele s "Rolling In The Deep, " re-imagining of Gil Scott-Heron s final album on <i>We re New Here</i> with its defining single "I ll Take Care Of U, " and his debut solo single "Far Nearer" set him apart as a highly regarded producer in his own right. That position was cemented when Drake asked Jamie to produce the title track of his album <i>Take Care</i>, inspired by "I ll Take Care Of U."<br><br>Above all, though, <i>Coexist</i> is an album of confident adult reflection. "Angels, " sung by Romy, is a perfectly distilled love song. Its counter is "Fiction" led by Oliver, a bittersweet ballad that s strength lies in naming its fear. What has changed for The xx? Nothing, and everything. Older and wiser, surer yet still so tender, <i>Coexist</i> finds itself on the other side of heartbreak, when the light returns.