The xx: Coexist (10th anniversary, coloured vinyl) [YOUNG TURKS]

Why you'll love it

Coexist is the xx at their most spacious and intimate, Jamie xx's club-tinged production around Romy and Oliver's whispered duets, now on 10th anniversary coloured vinyl.

This edition

• 10th anniversary edition
• Coloured vinyl
• Pressed in the Czech Republic

About the album

How do you follow a debut that won the Mercury Prize and soundtracked half the world's late nights? If you're the xx, you take everything out that doesn't need to be there. Coexist is a record built on space: a single guitar line, a heartbeat of bass, a hush of keys, and two voices.

Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim wrote the lyrics from their own lives, trading lines like a whispered conversation, while Jamie Smith (Jamie xx) brought back the dance-floor influences he'd soaked up while touring. "Angels" is a breathtaking opener, "Chained" pulses quietly, and "Sunset" and "Reunion" hint at the steel drums and house beats of his later solo work.

It went to No. 1 in the UK and No. 5 in the US. Ten years on, it still sounds best with the lights low and the volume politely down.

Also at Kops: more The xx on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On Young Turks (cat# YT080LP2), a reissue of the 2012 album.