The xx have released their debut album, the excitingly named XX, and it’s bloody brilliant. The indie four piece from London are signed to the Young Turks, a sub-division of XL [thanks Dave + Jamie] and make soothing, delicate tunes that’ll be perfect for any long summer night or late autumn walk. Lead singer Romy Madley Croft is accompanied by bassist Oliver Sim to great effect throughout the album and they’re produced by band member and multi-instrumentalist Jamie Smith so there’s clearly a wealth of talent that’s gone into the long player. There have been complaints about the potential blandness of many of the tracks but I do think this misses the point slightly. In my opinion XX is supposed to be a calming, headphones experience and listened to as such the subtleties of the music are amplified and the expert production really comes to the fore.

The xx – Basic Space (BN)
The xx – Basic Space (ZS)

The album, XX, was released on 17 August.