By Ben Cowlishaw
Staff Writer

Last night, The xx, the latest product of England’s modern indie rock scene, performed their second of two sold-out shows at The Granada in Dallas.

The xx cracked the code to making hit music with their debut, self-titled album xx in 2009, seeing worldwide acclaim within a year of its release and appreciation from other established artists; Rihanna even sampled the instrumental song “Intro” in her song “Drunk On Love.”

The album also features the song “Crystalised,” which now sits at over 27 million views on YouTube.

What makes The xx unique is that two of the main three members, Oliver Sim and Romy Croft, share vocal duties, splitting time between solos harmonizing with each other. This unusual setup for a band of this genre made for a unique spark that gave them rapid worldwide success.The xx opened the show with their first single from its 2012 album Coexist, “Angels.” Romy has the full share of the vocals of this slow-paced love ballad, which goes through many phases but is ultimately surrounding the lyric “they would be as in love with you as I am.”

Coexist is both similar and different from its debut album in several ways. It still features mostly simple guitar rhythms and melodies, but is much more inspired by “club music,” as the band stated prior to its release.

There is a much greater presence of electronic percussion on Coexist, which made the hour and a half set an exciting ride between the chill and mellow and the modern jam session as the band seemed to equally mix the old and the new throughout the show.

The emphasis on percussion and electronics allowed the band to blend together several songs at a time as on-stage producer and remix artist Jamie Smith rapidly molded several songs together. In the middle of the set, as the band played the core of Coexist, there were several groupings of two to three songs together that kept the energy up and the crowd enthusiastic.

The band also seemed to reinvent many of their most famous songs, including “Crystalised.” This made even the most repeatedly heard songs a new experience and intriguing for the audience.

The encore featured “Intro” from its first album that merged into “Tides” from Coexist. Closing out the show was an extended version of “Stars” that effectively summarized, capped and ended the 18-song set.

The crowd was also treated to an incredible light show that changed with the mood and progression of each song; this incredible performance was by all definitions a “multimedia” experience.

Opening for The xx was Austra, an electronic-indie group based in Toronto. Their talent and dedication to music was undeniable as they gave an unexpectedly electrifying performance that impressed the whole crowd at The Granada.