The XX — The XX

Precocious debut albums that hit the instant classic mark are nothing new (The Strokes and Vampire Weekend are two recent examples), but it's hard to ignore how good this XX record is.

Eerily materializing as if out of a thick fog, it leads off with an instrumental track draped in a Joy Division-like blanket before heavy beats and otherworldly-sounding group vocals update The Stone Roses for the kids who've never heard "Fool's Gold."

But despite the ability to marry the sounds of New Order and latter-day Radiohead with alarming ease, The XX's indisputable draw is Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft's dual vocals.

Singing and speaking at a seemingly equal ratio, they trade-off, intertwine and layer their vocals, playing them off each other as if part of an album-long dialogue between two lovers who coyly start and finish each other's sentences. Croft's impossibly seductive voice is often delivered barely over a breathy whisper, while Sim's near robotic, cold sneer is downright arresting.

The XX's influences are so wide reaching and disparate they really do feel like something completely new but ultimately comforting. The sexual overtones and attention to rhythm and groove point to modern day R&B, but the minimalism, trippy ambience and touches of electronica also show these kids have probably been overplaying their Young Marble Giants, Massive Attack and Portishead records since their early teens.

The XX is a breathtaking, fearless debut that's perfect for the dance floor or bedroom.

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