The Daily Spin II

The xx | Coexist

Welcome back to the Daily Spin. For the uninitiated, this is the series in which I review an album every day of 2025.

As was the case two years ago, my favorite song from each album can be found at the playlist linked here.

Album: Coexist (2012)

Artist: The xx

Link:

It’s hard when what precedes you is a genre-defining work, creating and filling a space most people hadn’t previously seen, and what follows you is an explosive ode to love, joy, and loss.

Somehow, Coexist was tasked with filling that gap - though it obviously only had the arduous journey to fill the shoes of the self-titled group debut when it was released in 2012, but it still feels as though it’s been surpassed by its younger sibling.

Through no fault of its own, this album can’t quite hit the highs of its counterparts - in an effort to be The Ultimate Indie Group, it kinda feels like the xx chose to strip out everything but what made the group undeniably them - that soft, hushed production, sparse electronic beats over dreamy synthetic work, pared-down and shelled-out rock touches that echo over lonely nights.

It works at times - ‘Angels’ is a haunting track that will stick with you forever - and a fantastic inclusion on The Great Gatsby soundtrack, while ‘Sunset’ plays to a dreamier side of the quiet life - but too frequently, this blends a little too easy, a little too whispered.

Rating: 8/10

Best Tracks: Angels

Worst Tracks: Missing