The XX Shine in Rain-Spattered Somerset House Show

The Xx brought their gloomy sounds to Central London's Somerset House last night, playing an open-air headline show amid drizzling rain.

The London born three-piece, hotly tipped to gain a Mercury Music prize nomination when the shortlist is announced next week, thanked the crowd, explaining that the show was something they had been looking forward to for months.

"We've been on the road for 18 months and this is the big show for us, we're so grateful you're here to share it with us." said singer and guitarist Ollie Sim.

The band opened the set with 'Intro' before running through the majority of their 2009 self-titled debut album including 'VCR,' 'Basic Space' and 'Shelter.'

Dressed head to toe in black and keeping the on stage chat to a bare minimum the band still showed a clear growth in confidence from their tentative early shows with Sim in particular much more relaxed than he once was.

With only an American tour scheduled for the rest of 2010, Britain may have to wait to see the Xx any time soon, something Sim confirmed shortly before playing 'Infinity.' "Thank you so much for having us tonight" he said. "It's going to be quite some time before we play London again so it's great to go out like this."

The band returned for a one song encore of 'Stars,' leaving the stage to rapturous applause.