The xx have already garnered plenty of column inches this year, so there’s little requirement to detail their background here (childhood friends, yada yada…) It is important, however, to point out that the significant coverage is justified, especially seeing as they’ve released one of the albums of the year (ooh, controversial – Ed.). The fact that this tiny pub basement venue has sold out is unsurprising.
First on are fellow Londoners Trailer Trash Tracys, something of a revelation in that they are one of the best opening acts this writer has seen in some time. The sound is a twangier, Chris Isaak-infused Cocteau Twins, with a touch of the Twin Peaks (or maybe even Top Gun) theme tune about it. Frontwoman Susanne Aztoria is a reincarnated, denim-clad Edie Sedgwick, sultry and melodramatic, rapidly bringing every heterosexual male in the room to his knees.
The xx arrive on stage to rapturous applause, whoops and shrieks. They begin with, sensibly enough, “Intro”. Shortly thereafter, it becomes apparent that we’re hearing something somewhat unusual. Yes, it’s brilliant, but it sounds almost exactly like it does on record. This can only make sense when one considers that the elements present on stage correlate precisely with that on wax. The genius of The xx is its minimalist nature. Most bands go to town with the overdubs, and are left in a compromising live situation with nothing but a backing track, but The xx shy away from this. The minimalism is their magic, and one can only hope they realise this.
The onstage banter is also minimal (though not entirely absent), but this is only appropriate, and one suspects it comes from humility rather than aloofness. For all their relative inter-song quietness, one can sense the enjoyment; the thrill they’re getting from playing to an obviously appreciative audience. Although this writer wasn’t there to witness it, one can’t imagine the same being true of their recent tour in support of Florence and The Machine.
Minimal sound or otherwise, The xx leave a big impression. Whether they will make a commercial impact to match that which they have made critically is another matter. Judging by tonight’s performance, though, they have the chops and the capacity to enthrall which will see them go far.
Our Arbitrary Numerical Verdict:
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Andrew Hill is a freelance music journalist and guitarist for Edinburgh band Sellotape. 
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My mate just introduced me to them last week, lovely sound. Very nice female voice too. Hopefully i’ll catch them live at some point!