The xx — Live on KEXP, 2012

Recorded on July 25, 2012, in the studios of Seattle radio station KEXP, this live session features The xx, the London trio that became an emblem of minimalist 2010s pop. Shortly before the release of their second album Coexist, Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim and Jamie Smith (Jamie xx) deliver four tracks — “Fiction,” “Reunion,” “Sunset” and “Angels” — with the spareness characteristic of their aesthetic. Sparse guitars, deep bass, electronic textures and murmured duet vocals build an intimate atmosphere, heightened by KEXP’s careful capture, hosted by Cheryl Waters. This multi-song live performance highlights the band’s mastery of silence and space, where every note counts and restrained tension stands in for climax. A benchmark filmed live concert for understanding The xx’s influence on independent pop and the decade’s electronic music, this KEXP session remains a model of sonic elegance, between reticence and controlled intensity. Stripped of any studio polish, the four-song set also reveals how much of the trio’s sound is built live, in real time, from Jamie xx’s samplers and the interlaced voices of Romy and Oliver.