News
Watch The XX on Carson Daly
Isaac Lekach :: Monday, December 14th, 2009 2:26 pm
Missed The XX while they were in the U.S.? Don’t worry, Carson Daly (yup, he’s still at it) had them on his show last week. You’ll notice guitarist/keyboardist Baria Qureshi (second from left in the photo) is not in the program. We’re not sure what the scoop is on Qureshi, but she’s been absent since we last saw the band at the Bowery a month ago. Watch their appearance after the jump if you can stomach Daly. Oh ok, maybe I’m being a little harsh on him. Since changing his format Last Call has had some pretty great guests: Metric, Lykke Li, Robert Francis… the list goes on. Fine Daly, I take it back-you’re not so bad. MORE »
News
The xx Still Rolling
Stephen Blackwell :: Thursday, November 12th, 2009 12:30 pm
You might recall a few weeks back that The xx were prematurely on the way out. They were exhausted. Being 20 and in a full-time band that people like is the pits — just ask them.
Lo and behold, we got an e-mail from their publicist this morning letting every know how great they are-despite losing a member.
They just sold out the Bowery Ballroom and will be supporting the Friendly Fires on the Nylon Winter Music Tour, so you’ll finally be able to see the band if you live in the United States but not in NYC.
Haven’t heard them yet? Check out the track “Basic Space” now.
News
The xx Are Pooped
Stephen Blackwell :: Thursday, October 29th, 2009 12:50 pm
Nobody should be too shocked about The xx taking a break due to exhaustion. We interviewed them in August and they were kind of already complaining about it. Keyboardist / guitarist Baria Quereshi, the first to plead exhaustion, lamented, “I turn twenty on Tuesday. We’re having two gigs in London on Monday and Tuesday, so I guess that that’s my party.” Poor guy.
Pitchfork hypothesized that “300 CMJ shows” will run anybody down, and, it is true — they did play too many shows at CMJ this year. But I don’t know. At SXSW in 2008 you couldn’t walk around the streets at any point in the day without hearing the sound of No Age creeping out of some club or outdoor party.
Hmmm, maybe shooting your burgeoning band in the foot is a British thing?
Events, Issue 22, Magazine
The XX at CMJ Plus the Death+Taxes Interview
Gray Hurlburt :: Friday, October 23rd, 2009 2:30 pm
On a scorched afternoon in early August I met with The xx, a young, soft-spoken bunch of Londoners who dress in mishmash black attire, at a retro diner in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. On account of the stifling weather, the allure of air conditioning and starchy food just seemed called for. I was hungover and tired, which, as it turns out, so were they.
When they came in through the glass door, bassist Oliver Sim had to duck his elongated body through the frame, and the rest followed in right behind. Together they looked like an adolescent combination of the Jesus & Mary Chain and Bauhaus. And like those rock stars, who could chronologically be their fathers, The xx already bore the physical strain of supporting a new album—replete with drooped shoulders and raccoon eyes. This brunch came after a long tour through Europe’s summer festival circuit, five shows in New York City (one the previous night with Friendly Fires), and two photo shoots that morning. MORE »
