London kids get the internet talking…
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[6.00]
Alex Macpherson: It’s rare to hear any band with such incredible command over their singular aesthetic, much less one as young as The xx. Taking Debussy’s maxim that “music is the space between the notes” as a starting point, they conjure oceans of feeling from unwaveringly still, spare arrangements. Sighing vocals and carefully placed notes are suspended in mid-air, evoking summer nights when moods hang heavy. But “Basic Space” is the sole cut on their xx album which feels negligible, largely because the band inexplicably eschew their usual swooning drift in favour of something more halting and earthbound.
[6]
Spencer Ackerman: Spare, haunting, nervy and beautifully sung. I’d give The XX money just for their reliance on negative sonic space. It seems like an insult to call this the descendant of the early-mid 00s overreliance on disco punk, and this isn’t that, but it’s angular and sexy and a bit sinister, so: close enough. Really wonderful.
[9]
Anthony Easton: Succeeds because of how quiet it is, how intimate it is; that it understands the grammar of disco and can use it for things other than party records means I want to hear more.
[6]
Martin Skidmore: I’ve played it three times now, and it seems determined to stay as background music to be ignored – it’s as diffident a record as I have ever heard, to the point of timidity, and it won’t sink into me at all. I don’t dislike it, but it is rather like someone whispering the distance.
[4]
Michaelangelo Matos: The guy is just about the biggest mushmouth I’ve ever heard, yet his indolence fits the arrangement perfectly. It’s wiry and loose at the same time, so it’s fairly unique. But unique by itself isn’t enough — not quite.
[6]
Matt Cibula: I have renamed this song “Don’t You Want Me Baby (Probably Not, I Don’t Know, I’m So Confused, That’s Why I Sound So Sad)” in my mind.
[6]
Martin Kavka: The first time I heard the awful harmonies — they’re really horrible — I wanted to give this a 1. Then I remembered that the harmonies in Electronic’s “Getting Away With It” are also horrible. That song is amazing; why not give this a second chance? After sixteen more chances, “Basic Space” is equally as transporting, although it’s a far more indolent song. Glacial, actually. (Does anyone in this band ever move? How do they get groceries?) Absolutely major.
[10]
Chuck Eddy: Doesn’t even sound especially spacious to me. Or basic, for that matter. And both singers sound slightly less exciting than listening to dust motes accumulate on my keyboard.
[1]
Erika Villani: Apparently having two lead vocalists is this band’s thing, but they could really do without the dude and his halting Lykke Li impression. Of course, then they would have nothing more than a charismatic, whispery, soul-tinged female singer layered over some smooth, thrummy electronics and a tripping beat, and we would have no way to tell them apart from Zero 7 featuring Sia.
[3]
Jordan Sargent: Carefully and perfectly prepared, like a meal from a five-star chef who knows how to properly season a dish. The hooks, though not overpowering or thunderous, crop up at the same rate as they do in the best work by someone like The-Dream (specifically his work on the Electrik Red album) and with the same sense of ruthless professionalism. “Basic Space” is minimalism so generous that it feels maximalist.
[9]
Tom Ewing: Precious, fragile, atmospheric, controlled — also somewhat half-formed on this track at least, but there’s enough here to suggest that if they had material as magnetic as the production they might be something special.
[6]
Additional Scores
Ian Mathers: [6]
Anthony Miccio: [6]