The xx has won this year's Mercury prize. Eyewear has long appreciated this band - well, since they came out a little over a year ago. The xx are the most sonically original British band in a decade, and perhaps the most melodically spare and intriguing - by marrying post-punk guitars to an urban spoken delivery (that also echoes Lou Reed ) they manage to represent the traditions of The Beatles, The Smiths, Nirvana , but also the current dark landscape. Their debut album is awfully beautiful, very haunting, and keeps a curious distance - emotive but cool, like Portishead was. This is an example of timeless artistry, that, whatever they do next, cannot stale.
POETRY, POLITICS, PROVOCATION AND POPULAR CULTURE SINCE 2005 - 20 YEARS AND over 10 million visits - British Library-archived