SXSW Aftermath: The xx, Another British Buzz Band Gone All Too Soon

Hearing the opening of The xx’s single “Intro” (featured during the
Olympics on an AT&T commercial with speed-skater Apolo Ohno) the
broiling mass of humanity that filled the French Legation grounds in
East Austin Thursday evening let out a collective sigh.

The late-starting set was one of
the year’s biggest buzz bands launching its SXSW assault, playing its
first of many showcases. Yet The xx is one of those new British bands –
think Bloc Party or White Lies – that doesn’t really seem suited for
sunny festival settings. Sex and dark moods shape their songs, so while
they played their quasi-hits “Crystallize” and “Islands,” the energy
remained diffuse.

The lyrics were muted. Listeners turned to
conversation and heckling one and other rather that digging the band.
One hopes the singer-guitarist Romy Madley-Croft finds her inner belter
this week. Certainly, on the winning “Infinity,” with a guitar line
that sounds suspiciously similar Chris Issak’s “Wicked Game,” the band
showed charisma.

Alas, The xx were gone from this showcase before we
got better acquainted.