It was late 2012. You couldn't go into a boutique coffee shop or a dimly lit urban bar without hearing that specific, muted guitar pluck. But the pressure on Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, and Jamie Smith—collectively known as The xx—was borderline suffocating. Their debut had won the Mercury Prize. It had redefined "indie" as something quiet, skeletal, and intensely private. So, when The xx Coexist album finally dropped, it didn't arrive with a bang. It arrived with a whisper that felt like it might break if you looked at it too hard.
People expected a massive pop pivot. Jamie xx was already becoming a global DJ deity. But instead of chasing the EDM explosion of the early 2010s, the trio retreated into themselves. They made an album about the space between two people. Honestly, it’s one of the loneliest-sounding records ever to hit number one on the UK charts.
The Minimalist Trap: Why Coexist Polarized Fans
If their debut was a high-school crush, Coexist was the messy, silent reality of a long-term relationship falling apart. It’s sparse. Like, really sparse. Some critics at the time, including those at Pitchfork and The Guardian, felt it was almost too much of a sequel. They called it "more of the same." But that’s a surface-level take that misses what was actually happening under the hood.
The band recorded this in a small studio in London, and you can hear the claustrophobia. While the first album used silence as a gimmick, Coexist uses it as a weapon. On tracks like "Angels," there is barely any percussion. It’s just Romy’s voice and a guitar line that sounds like it’s being played in an empty swimming pool.
Jamie xx’s influence here is subtle but deep. He was falling in love with 90s UK garage and house music. You can hear those DNA strands in the syncopated beats of "Reunion" or the club-adjacent pulse of "Swept Away." It wasn't a club record, but it was a record about thinking about the club while sitting alone in your bedroom at 3 AM.
A Technical Shift in the Sound
Romy and Oliver’s vocal dynamic changed here too. On the first record, they often sang together or responded to each other. On The xx Coexist album, they sound like they are in different rooms. It’s a literal representation of the album’s title—coexisting, but not necessarily connecting.
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The gear used was notoriously simple. They stuck to their signature Gibson Les Paul and Fender Precision Bass, but Jamie’s production moved toward more sophisticated textures. He began using the MPC to trigger more organic, "woody" sounds. It’s less digital than the debut, even though it feels more electronic.
The Legacy of "Angels" and "Chained"
"Angels" remains the blueprint for the band's entire ethos. It is a love song, sure, but it’s a terrifying one. The lyrics "being as in love with you as I am" are delivered with a vulnerability that feels almost voyeuristic to listen to. It’s the kind of song that would be ruined by a heavy drum beat.
Then you have "Chained." This is where the tension peaks. The bassline is heavy, dragging behind the beat. It perfectly captures that feeling of being stuck in a cycle with someone.
- The tempo is slower across the board compared to xx.
- The lyrics moved away from teenage longing toward adult isolation.
- The production integrated more "found sounds" and atmospheric hum.
Many listeners at the time didn't realize how much Jamie xx was holding back. He could have turned "Sunset" into a massive floor-filler. Instead, he kept the beat skeletal. It’s an exercise in restraint that few producers today—in the era of "maximalist" pop—would have the guts to pull off.
Why We Still Talk About This Record
It’s about the intimacy. Most modern music is loud. It’s designed to grab your attention in the first three seconds of a TikTok scroll. The xx Coexist album does the opposite. It demands that you turn your volume up just to hear what’s happening. It forces a level of focus that is increasingly rare.
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Socially, the album landed at a weird time. We were all becoming more "connected" via smartphones, but the loneliness epidemic was just starting to be discussed in the mainstream. The xx captured that paradox perfectly. It’s music for the "together alone" generation.
Musicologists often point to Coexist as the bridge between the indie-rock of the 2000s and the "alt-R&B" movement that would follow with artists like FKA Twigs or James Blake. It stripped away the "rock" elements entirely, leaving behind a soulful, electronic skeleton.
The Impact of Jamie xx’s Solo Rise
You can’t talk about this album without mentioning In Colour. Jamie’s solo success often overshadows the middle child of The xx’s discography. But without the experimentation on Coexist, we never get "Loud Places." He learned how to manipulate emotion through frequency and space on this record.
Actionable Ways to Rediscover the Album
If you haven't listened to it in years, or if you're a new fan coming from their solo projects, don't just put it on in the background while you do dishes. You'll miss the point.
1. Listen on Open-Back Headphones
The spatial imaging on this record is incredible. Using open-back headphones allows the "air" in the recording to breathe. You’ll hear the subtle hiss of the amps and the way the voices decay in the room.
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2. Pair it With the "I See You" Era
Listen to Coexist immediately followed by their third album. You’ll see the evolution from monochromatic grey to the bright, brassy colors of their later work. It makes the minimalism of Coexist feel even more intentional.
3. Analyze the Lyrics as a Dialogue
Read the lyrics while you listen. Notice how Romy and Oliver rarely acknowledge each other directly. It’s a masterpiece of "missed connections" songwriting.
4. Study Jamie’s Percussion
Focus solely on the drums. On tracks like "Fiction," the rhythm is incredibly complex but mixed so low that it feels like a heartbeat. It’s a lesson in "less is more" for any aspiring producer.
5. Look for the Live Versions
The band’s performance at Glastonbury following this release showed how these quiet songs could fill a massive field. The live arrangements often add a bit more "grit" that isn't present on the studio recordings.
The record isn't a "vibe" or "background noise." It’s a technical achievement in restraint. In a world that won't stop screaming, Coexist is a reminder that the most important things are usually whispered. It’s an essential pillar of 2010s music that deserves to be treated as more than just a bridge between two more "popular" albums. It is the emotional core of The xx.