Albums to watch

Coexist

The xx

Coexist

The introverted London band follow up their widely-acclaimed debut with a 2nd album of indie rock / dream pop, now as a trio

ADM rating[?]

7.8

Label
Young Turks
UK Release date
10/09/2012
US Release date
11/09/2012
  1. 10.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Almost too perfect to bear
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  2. 10.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    The world adored the xx’s Mercury Prize-winning debut album xx. Coexist is, if anything, an even finer piece of work
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  3. 10.0 |   hhv.de mag

    Hardly any other sound in the last few years has been more contemporary yet timeless
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  4. 9.1 |   A.V. Club

    Coexist presents a version of The xx that listeners will recognize, but cleans everything up a bit, subtly stretching and improving the formula that won acclaim
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  5. 9.1 |   Pretty Much Amazing

    An album that represents a subtle but potent evolution of The xx’s sound. What could have been an overly ambitious sophomore effort is instead a concise novella of an album that makes a deep impression
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  6. 9.0 |   BBC

    The xx’s challenge was to both expand their palette and satisfy the demands of a huge audience. And through refinement rather than reinvention, they’ve succeeded in singular style
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  7. 9.0 |   Uncut

    Exactly what fans of a great debut always want but rarely get: the same again, but stronger, deeper, better. Coexist is a masterpiece
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  8. 9.0 |   Bowlegs

    You will love this album for years to come
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  9. 9.0 |   Tone Deaf

    Three years on and the the trio’s aesthetics might not have changed, their sound only marginally altered, but most importantly everything that made their debut so revered hasn’t changed either – not in the slightest
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  10. 8.5 |   Prefix

    Coexist cements the London trio’s roles as masters of manipulating both sound and space
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  11. 8.1 |   Beats Per Minute

    It’s an unexpected direction for a sophomore release and shows The xx have matured musically as much as they have lyrically
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  12. 8.0 |   The Fly

    Like their debut, ‘Coexist’ works best when enjoyed as a complete album, the band able to lull you slowly into their own world for 35-minutes
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  13. 8.0 |   Entertainment.ie

    An understated expansion of their sound – it's still very familiar, but in paring back some aspects and upping the ante of others whilst maintaining the power of intermittent quiet there's enough to maintain intrigue
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  14. 8.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    If it sounds a lot like the band’s first album it also sounds like they’ve worked hard to maintain that level of poise
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  15. 8.0 |   All Music

    Coexist's exploration of isolation and intimacy is demanding and rewarding in its bold subtlety and eloquent simplicity
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  16. 8.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Hopefully they won’t leave us in the lurch for another three years
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  17. 8.0 |   State

    Although it can be seen as a slide rather than a leap forward, it is destined to be one of the year’s best
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  18. 8.0 |   The Observer

    Coexist is yet another barely there album in which the dawn seems far away
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  19. 8.0 |   NME

    Listen after listen it reveals...many treasures beneath its layers of shimmering sadness
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  20. 8.0 |   Spin

    Millions of late-night love-letter authors will be grateful
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  21. 8.0 |   The Arts Desk

    While the trademark sparseness is instantly recognisable there is a definite progression here, with the already-present dancefloor element more frequently foregrounded
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  22. 8.0 |   Daily Telegraph

    Coexist may not sound as dramatically original as their debut but it is every bit as other-worldly, like eavesdropping on intimate conversations between forlorn lovers on a space station orbiting around a distant planet
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  23. 8.0 |   Mojo

    It's hard not to wonder where they will go from here, but if letting the world in has resulted in an album this beguiling, there's nothing to fear. Print edition only

  24. 8.0 |   Clash

    Where ‘xx’ traded on a certain naïve charm, ‘Coexist’ is a meticulously controlled aural environment
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  25. 8.0 |   No Ripcord

    There’s enough experimentation and progress within to show the band still have the hunger, yet they haven’t betrayed their musical hallmarks
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  26. 7.5 |   Pitchfork

    Every band that creates a new world deserves a chance to return to it, to play around some more and see how much inspiration still exists
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  27. 7.4 |   Paste Magazine

    Something beautiful, simple and true
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  28. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    It's not what the xx put into their music. It's what they leave out
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  29. 7.0 |   God Is In The TV

    The production is, of course, top-notch and each individual song stands well on its own, and the club elements are incorporated wisely- however, it would have just been nice to see the trio come out of their comfort zone a little bit for album two
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  30. 7.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    It consolidates our idea of who The xx are, but adds little else of its own
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  31. 7.0 |   The Quietus

    Isn't a 'pop' album, at least not in the sense of their debut; but neither is its production and songwriting quite clearly defined enough to make it a roundly successful downtempo dance record. Rather, it spends much of its length stuck wandering in a hazy space between the two, pretty but rudderless
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  32. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    It's a good follow-up, just not a great one
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  33. 6.0 |   The Skinny

    A record that impresses in spurts, but which ultimately frustrates
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  34. 6.0 |   The Digital Fix

    Coexist should sell well, riding on the crest of the last album's ubiquity. The overbearing feeling of déja vu does, however, make you wish there was more distance between the two
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  35. 6.0 |   Q

    The mood of their music often feels a little stuck. Print edition only

  36. 6.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Despite the fact that Coexist is both gorgeous and thoughtful, it's difficult not to be disappointed by its anticlimactic drift
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  37. 6.0 |   The Independent

    Deceptively uneasy listening at times, but worth the effort
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  38. 6.0 |   PopMatters

    It’s hard not to feel that one of the year’s most anticipated releases only keeps you waiting and waiting for something more to happen
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  39. 5.0 |   Under The Radar

    It's almost as if they're looking to rise above the dream pop clones that the first record spawned, but the end result is a record that feels phoned in
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