Music in negative space.
This best describes the sound of the XX who, within the past couple of years, have quickly garnered the attention as one of Britain’s hottest rising indie pop bands. The young trio from South London has made their waves through slow and subtle beats paired with smooth and provocative vocals. Their focus on the finer details of the bass lines, chords and beat production allows for a simplistic and clean musical backdrop. With a few tweaks in their production, they are able to create a space-like atmosphere leaving an acoustic void, allowing their vocals (though monotonous and lackluster) to be at front and center. Their self titled album, The XX, carries this musical approach from start to finish and could often times carry over from song to song without skipping a beat…making their approach a hit or miss with listeners. Nonetheless, despite their recent success, their clean, modern R&B sound remains refreshing amongst their peers.

Sources/Additional Information:
The XX
Album cover via Wikipedia