The xx

Three years after their Mercury-winning debut, The xx are back with a new album, Coexist, and a new perspective. Where their first record lent in close to whisper in your ear, Coexist gazes warmly in your eyes. Much has happened to lead to this point: most pertinently, they’ve grown up. Coexist 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, Coexist finds itself on the other side of heartbreak, when the light returns.