Quiet confidence
London trio The xx re-emerge with a new mixture of tough and tender
The xx makes so much sense in headphones.
Before the English trio’s third full-length effort “I See You” landed in January, The xx’s discography made noise because of just how quiet it was. Songs were so sparse that the words tender and intimate sell them short. Three childhood friends Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim and Jamie Smith issued a collective shush to busy, overproduced music. Their work is somehow gothic, bleak and loving all at the same time. They emerged in the late aughts and sparked a global following.
A couple dueling voices, a guitar, bass and some well-placed electronic beats found more ears than they could’ve imagined. The xx have sold 2.7 million records the world over. In the last decade, only two other British bands — One Direction and Mumford & Sons — have had a gold debut in the U.S. So maybe that pressure is what took The xx five years to confidently renew a mixture of tough and tender. 2012’s “Coexist” only find them getting quieter.
The road made a big difference, and their sound has grown fuller and warmer. As if they wrapped themselves in a winter jacket big enough for three. Writing sessions in Los Angeles, Iceland and Marfa, Texas, pushed the band outside of their UK-based comfort zone. Croft even collaborated with Tulsa-born producer Ryan Tedder, of OneRepublic, on music that landed outside the strict confinements of The xx.
At the tail end of a brief vacation seeing friends and family, Sim spoke to The Oklahoman on his way to the airport. It was my third attempt at reaching the illustriously busy band on the phone. It was worth the wait.
Here’s a few highlights from my interview with Sim.
Q: I was watching concert footage from
your recent festival tour stop in Berlin. You looked to have a lot more energy than the somber shows you’re known for. Almost like a dance party. Is that the sorta direction you’re wanting to go?
Oliver Sim: We didn’t really plan for it. When we were making the album (“I See You”), I remember I had gone to a lot of Jamie’s DJ sets, and I’d seen him making people dance. I think the feeling I felt was absolute jealousy. It’s
something we haven’t really ever had before because on the first two albums, there’s a lot of ballads and there’s a lot of heartbreak. I wanted that for us.
When we went into the studio me and Romy came to Jamie with a lot of high tempo demos which, surprisingly, he wasn’t up for. He’d just spent a year and a half touring, making people dance, and he wanted something different. We had to meet in the middle ground. Songs like “On Hold” definitely have a lot more energy than we’ve ever had before.
Q: Jamie xx’s album “In Colour” got a lot of attention last year. Was his solo record inspirational to you?
Sim: Definitely. Me and Romy had done some work on the album, and that was the first time I’d ever done any work not as The xx. I suppose I wasn’t trying to hold on to any aspect of how we sound. It was really freeing and opened up a lot of ideas and ways of working. I only worked on one song, Romy worked on two and the rest of it I can enjoy as a fan.
I realized I missed performing, which I didn’t think I ever would because I thought I just enjoyed songwriting. Performing, for a long time, was something I felt like I had to do but just seeing him on stage and being on the other
side it kind of gave me a hunger.
Q: After these festival sets, have the jitters of playing new material live gotten out of your system yet?
Sim: I think playing our own shows is great, but playing festivals is a very different experience. I enjoy playing festivals, but the audiences have a lot less patience. Maybe they haven’t heard the new album, and it’s a lot about wanting to hear songs that they know and recognize. I still feel very protective over the new songs. I want people to give them a chance, and they have but there’s definitely still jitters.
Q: You tested a lot of “I See You” with exclusive concerts to an audience of just 45 people at 25 shows over 10 days. Can you tell me about some of the material that didn’t make the final cut?
Sim: Two of my actual, favorite songs that we wrote for this album didn’t make it. They were B-sides. That’s “Seasons Run” and “Naive.” It was a really hard decision, but it was about making an album that was cohesive. It was honestly quite like a heartbreaking experience. I hate to make this comparison, but all of these songs are like my kids. It’s like telling two kids to stay at home while you bring the rest to a party.
Q: Can you tell me about writing “Naive” and showing that to the band?
Sim: Sometimes I can feel a lot braver in songwriting than I can in conversation because you can write something, record it and hand it over. There’s a disconnect. You can literally turn your back while you’re playing someone a song. This album has been my way of communicating to the other two.
Q: In a band with two other people, does every decision have to be unanimous? How do you make choices in The xx?
Sim: Sometimes one person is kind of outvoted. When it came to the decision about “Seasons Run” and “Naive.” I was focusing on myself as opposed to us as a band. I really wanted those songs because they had a particularly special meaning to me. It was a hard one to swallow. It’s not always a unanimous decision.
Q: I noticed that $1 from every ticket from this leg of the tour is donated to a local LGBTQ organization. What inspired that idea?
Sim: I suppose it’s an opportunity to help out. We did a residency earlier this year in Brixton and a big part of that was giving back to the community. That’s the community that me and Romy kind of grew up in and it was quite a new thing for us. It was a great experience.
Q: After three albums over the past several years, just how much has your life changed in this band?
Sim: I think the biggest thing I’ve taken from all of this is I really needed a lot of confidence, just in my day to day life, and this band has definitely given it to me. I’m still not the most outgoing, confident guy. I’ve come a long way, and I can see the other two have, as well.