[[xx]]A band that frequently ends up on the Readings Carlton turntable during long sunny Sunday afternoons, the yearning alt-pop of The XX is almost a physical comfort.

Romy Madley Croft fills in all the quiet corners with her velvet-lined vocals. From a soulful nod to Portishead on the opening single ‘Angels’ to the steadier clap of the drum line on indie-dance track ‘Swept Away’, The XX are a chain letter in band form: hear them, pass it on and watch it take over the world.

[[fiona-hardy-pic]]Fiona Hardy