The xx: ready-made dream pop

The London-based dream pop trio known as The xx took the alternative music scene by storm with the release of their debut album "xx" in August of 2009. They topped "best of the year" charts, slipping into "Rolling Stone's" #9 slot and AfterEllen.com's #1 in their Top 10 Albums from Lesbian/Bisexual Women in 2009. The three barely-20 Brits -- Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, and Jamie Smith -- have created a sexy, atmospheric sound that's far beyond their years. Lead guitarist Croft and bassist Sim take turns layering airy vocals over stripped beats and forming the refreshingly amateur musical creation.

The minimalist black-and-white CD cover of their debut self-titled album mirrors The xx's sound: smooth, fluid, the sparse vocals float easily over carefully timed electro beats and unfussy guitar. They play with xylophone sounds in "VCR" while Croft half-whispers lyrics about adolescent love in a feminine voice that belies her butch exterior. National Public Radio (NPR) joined "Nylon," "The New York Post," and "Entertainment Weekly" in lauding The xx, calling their sound "both casually cool and absolutely magnetic...simple and raw, but utterly captivating." It's slowly becoming clear that there are few media genres safe from The xx's contagious beats. If the song "Intro" sounds familiar, that's because it was used in an AT&T commercial featuring Apolo Anton Ohno that was aired during the 2010 Winter Olympics, held in Vancouver.

The xx was conceived at London's Elliot School, when friends Croft and Sim started messing around with music. "I guess it was kind of easier to do more jokey stuff in front of your best friend rather than properly singing," Sim told London's 'Dummy Mag.' "So yeah, it started out as kind of a joke and now we have an album." As far as the romantic, sensual lyrics that Sim and Croft sing to one another, Croft said, "We're best friends so it's not like love songs to one another, it's to an outside subject."

"xx" could have been (should have been?) the Blow's next album, a demonstration of the culmination (and evolution) of a full musical career -- except The xx skipped all that in-between stuff, like albums that bomb and songs that flop. Not to say that they haven't already experienced their fair share of inter-band drama; keyboardist Baria Qureshi left the band last fall, citing exhaustion.

Not surprisingly, The xx has been scheduled to play at the 2010 Lilith Fair alongside notable Sapphic songstresses Tegan & Sara, Sia, the Indigo Girls, and Brandi Carlile. But before they head to the desert, The xx is coming to Beantown. They'll be at the Paradise on April 2; call (617) 562-8800 or visit www.thedise.com for details.