The xx in Park Ave Armory – Intimate Immensity?

By | March 24, 2014

Thought this recent NYTimes review of the xx at the Park Avenue Armory might be food for thought for your upcoming assignment.  If anyone has gone or plans to go, let us know your experience!

A pressurized hush in a cavernous space: That was the sensory impression left by the xx toward the end of its mesmerizing performance at the ParkAvenue Armory on Wednesday night. Considering the setting and the band’s trademark sound — its drowsy clarity and terse interiority — the feeling itself wasn’t a stretch. What gave it depth was a larger context that often seemed as much an art installation as a concert, and at every moment like a dynamic, self-aware commentary on the issue of scale.

The xx, from London, builds songs out of rigorous purpose and disarmingly few pieces, which has earned it a reputation for reductionism. But the elements that make it into the music are generally the essentials, chief among them an emotionally fraught counterpoint between two singers of slinky magnetism, Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim. Intimacy is a base-line constant for the xx, but it’s also a source of endless tension.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *