32. the xx, 'Coexist'

Winning the Mercury Prize for their debut put a lot of pressure on The xx’s sophomore effort. But the British indie-pop trio’s beat-based boy-girl music has always sounded like the sonic equivalent of contents under pressure. By focusing as much on silence between the notes as the notes themselves, there's a pervasive tension that continues here, even when offset by Romy Madley Crof’s gorgeous vocals. Music is in a maximalist phase right now, with dance-pop piling on as many sounds, melodies and beats as it can -- thus giving the xx’s sparse minimalism ever more potency. -- Joshua Ostroff