Shy, timid and producing a beautifully stark and downbeat sound that seemed to
chime with the times, four childhood friends became The XX, the breakthrough
stars of 2009; charming the critics and winning the Mercury Music Prize for
debut album XX (2009). Built on the delicately poised songwriting talents of
Londoners Romy Croft and Oliver Sim and the brooding production skills of Jamie
Smith, the band were signed up by the Young Turks label when still only 17 years
old, after graduating from the same school that gave the world Hot Chip, Burial
and Four Tet. Writing and recording ...