The xx were four precocious youngsters from South West London who provide the hushed minimal strokes of Youth Marble Giants and early Cure but through the minds of a young act obsessed with the R&B turns of Ciara and Aaliyah. They even covered Aaliyah's "Hot Like Fire" as the b-side for their first single, "Crystalised" and first gained attention after recording a sensational version of Womack and Womack's "Teardrops".

Having signed to XL sub-label Young Turks earlier in the year of their debut's release, the band began to record with a host of the finest producers including Brazilian giant Diplo and up-and-coming hotshot Kwes. Eventually, the four settled on recording at XL's in-house studio, with the album eventually produced by the band themselves.

This is an inspired, broken, and uplifting record, packed with melancholic charms that recall the suburban disillusion of the previous Burial records and Portishead's Dummy.