There’s been a great deal of speculation lately as to the nature of the new album by London trio The xx, the follow-up to their massively successful self-titled debut. Hot on the heels of a series of London shows showcasing new and old material, they have now announced that the new album is to be titled Coexist, and will be released through Young Turks on 10th September. It was produced by the band’s Jamie Smith, and was recorded between November 2011 and May 2012 in the band’s studio in London.
"We’re so excited to share with you the news that our second record ‘Coexist’ will be released on September 10th," reads a statement from the band. "After a long time on the road, we took a break, created our own studio and wrote these new songs that we’re so looking forward to playing to you. We will be touring throughout the summer and beyond, and hope to play somewhere near you soon. xx The xx"
So far that’s all the information we’ve been given about the album, but we’ll give you more when we have it. In the meantime, for some clues as to the sound of their new material, read Luke Turner’s review of a recent London show here. One new track is described as "possibly the longest, most complexly arranged XX song yet. It introduces steel drums used as a kind of fluid background melody instead of rhythm. The latter is instead provided by an excellent Burial-esque piston-clop, that has a strange breakdown before a vocal melody returns over the top. Given that sonically it’s essentially a singer-songwriter duo playing in a venue above a well-appointed nightclub, sounds meeting in the beams between, it shouldn’t work. It’s a testament to skill of The xx as balancers of melody, emotion, sound and rhythm that it does."
