The XX Remain Humble at SXSW

Posted on Mar 19th 2010 12:45PM by Mike Ayers
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One of the hottest tickets in town at this year's SXSW has been for London's the XX, who've recently found a world of new fans due to their relentless touring and AT&T's recent use of 'Intro' in one of their Olympic-themed commercials. With that in mind, it wasn't surprising to see a massive line down the block hours before their scheduled 1AM set time or the humble effects of being greeted so warmly.

Bassist Oliver Sims told the crowd that they'd never been to SXSW before and were grateful for the crowd's reception. A lot of bands can show up to their slotted times and hope that a few people watching would know maybe one or two songs, but the XX's self-titled debut album has been out since last fall, so there's been a lot of time to get to know them well. And he seemed to realize that, humbly, after the band opened up with 'Intro.'

For the most part, the XX play the underground, goth typology well, wearing all black accented by a few choice silver pieces. But Sims is an animated bassist; he often swings from side to side, especially on the groovier tunes such as 'Crystallized' and 'Islands.' They also ran through a slow, stuttery version of Womack and Womack's 'Teardrops,' but more than that, what's refreshing about the XX is that some actual motion is engrained in this band, as so many "dark" acts just play the part of bummer and then leave. As much as their songs ride a brooding, mellow Cure vibe, they're not playing that angle up too much, aside from the all black attire and new wave haircuts.

The XX continue this weekend with a slew of SXSW gigs before heading out for select club dates, Coachella and a handful of shows with Hot Chip later this spring.