Coexist

The xx - Coexist
Critic Score
Based on 46 reviews
2012 Ratings: #142 / 1118
Year End Rank: #24
User Score
Based on 806 ratings
2012 Rank: #317
Liked by 40 people
September 11, 2012 / Release Date
LP / Format
Young, XL / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Drowned in Sound

The xx lay out all of their pieces beautifully. There are no extraneous parts. Not a second that they didn’t intend.

100
The Independent

The world adored the xx's Mercury Prize-winning debut album xx. Coexist is, if anything, an even finer piece of work.

91
Pretty Much Amazing

What could have been an overly ambitious sophomore effort is instead a concise, novella of an album that makes a deep impression and leaves a mark as it drifts away.

91
A.V. Club

Coexist presents a version of The xx that listeners will recognize, but cleans everything up a bit, subtly stretching and improving the formula that won acclaim. 

90
Uncut

So sultry and sensual it makes The xx sound like beginners’ luck, Coexist is going to be the midnight soundtrack to thousands of seductions over the next few decades.

85
Prefix
It's a collective of conjoined poems, meticulously attuned to shake both the earth and eardrums alike.
83
Entertainment Weekly

It’s exciting to hear the minimalist U.K. trio approach their new-crush odes with such austerity in Coexist — just a few steady-droning Casios and an 808 rhythm that buh-bumps like a heartbeat.

81
Beats Per Minute

The end result is a quieted, more suppressed record that steps delicately from one note to the next and shines even more of a spotlight on the twin vocal sentiments of longing and crumbled romance. 

80
NOW Magazine

While the basic formula remains, Coexist lingers longer in the realm of sub-bass than its predecessor. Its low frequencies, irregular rhythms and slow-burning dance beats creep into the songs and draw us in deeper.

80
Mojo
If letting the world in has resulted in an album this beguiling, there's nothing to fear.
80
The Observer

Coexist is yet another masterpiece of lush asceticism.

80
The Guardian

For the most part Coexist's songs are defined as much by space as by sound. The gaps bring greater emphasis to the spidery guitar lines, the occasional steel pan, the distant icicles of piano, and the voices of Romy Madley-Croft and Oliver Sim.

80
Clash

While the lyrics are a little lacking, the sonics remain impressive enough to divert attention.

80
Billboard

This album is one that begs to be lived with for a long period of time, its quiet details given ample room to germinate.

80
Loud and Quiet

If it sounds a lot like the band’s first album it also sounds like they’ve worked hard to maintain that level of poise.

80
FasterLouder

Their second album is a paean to silence. Compressed and contracted by the most minimal of arrangements, the spaces are where you’ll find the band’s emotional secrets.

80
Time Out London

Jamie Smith’s production is hugely impressive ... His contribution is just one eye-opening facet of a painfully sparse but also startlingly good album, one that almost disintegrates under the weight of its own sadness. 

80
Resident Advisor

Coexist is defined by its moments of silence and spaces between. The album is coloured and shaded gently by textural accents rather than big shifts in mood, or climaxes.

80
The Fly

Like their debut, ‘Coexist’ works best when enjoyed as a complete album, the band able to lull you slowly into their own world for 35-minutes.

80
The 405

The album is a testament to what makes them great artists: the ability to take influences and mix in some of their own original thought to create that signature sound.

80
Consequence of Sound

Coexist surges forward and retreats within itself more than its predecessor but still never breaks the surface, existing in the liminal space between a song and a thought.

80
No Ripcord

Overall, it’s a successful return, and a record that demonstrates the success of their debut wasn’t a fluke and that The xx truly are masters of musical alchemy.

80
SPIN

What makes this music special is what Smith does with all that stylized sparseness, transforming it into something alive and dynamic instead of merely sleepy. Millions of late-night love-letter authors will be grateful.

80
NME

It hides more than ‘xx’ did, sneaking its miserable joys behind bare spaces, surprise time signatures and subtle dramas.

80
Mixmag
While album three may require a reboot from The XX, that's for another day. Right now, when it comes to fusing indie rock and dance, no one pulls it off quite as elegantly.
75
Pitchfork

The most appealing thing about this record is that this band, having created a brilliant and moving sound, returns to it again for another 38 minutes.

74
Paste

It’s a calculated tradeoff: use space and silence to heighten an album’s intimacy, lose some immediacy. 

70
The Line of Best Fit

The basest summation of Coexist is that it’s an xx album on which the songwriting isn’t as good, but the production is better.

70
musicOMH

It's a good follow-up, just not a great one. More annoyingly, it feels like it could have been better. 

70
AllMusic

Coexist's exploration of isolation and intimacy is demanding and rewarding in its bold subtlety and eloquent simplicity.

70
FACT Magazine

Neither spectacular or deflating, Coexist is simply the sound of the xx, more or less just as we left it: minimalist, intuitive, romantic and enchanting.

70
Rolling Stone

On their second LP, as on their 2009 debut, the Londoners are masters of restraint, building songs from simple chord progressions, delicate guitar and keyboard ostinatos, the gentle rub of Romy Madley-Croft and Oliver Sim's his-and-hers croons – and, most of all, from silence.

60
Q Magazine
The mood of their music often feels a little stuck, though.
60
Slant Magazine

Despite the fact that Coexist is both gorgeous and thoughtful, it’s difficult not to be disappointed by its anticlimactic drift.

60
The Skinny

Coexist is a more sombre, earnest affair; it’s mostly languid, without any of the dancefloor fodder that made the first such a joy.

60
PopMatters

It’s hard not to feel that one of the year’s most anticipated releases only keeps you waiting and waiting for something more to happen.

50
Under the Radar

Yes, it's as laid-back and relaxing as pop music can get, but the sparseness has transcended the band's aesthetic and wormed its way into their hitherto impressive creative oeuvre

40
The Needle Drop
On their sophomore effort, London dream pop outfit the xx drum up more of the skeletal, emotive style their first album delivered.
40
Tiny Mix Tapes

Coexist is definitely an album for the cocktail hour or for red wine. Alcohol has always been a prop to romance, but only in the short term: where xx was an album that got its hooks in you, Coexist becomes a somnolent atmosphere-in-itself, in which hooks are conspicuous by their absence.

Shaze1
82

It's beautiful, but not mind-blowing.

Coexist, the second studio album by British indie pop band The xx, is a stunning and cohesive work of art. Released in 2012, it builds on the group's signature sound of sparse arrangements and hushed vocals, but with a newfound maturity and emotional depth.

From the opening track "Angels," which sets the tone with its delicate guitar and haunting vocals, to the mesmerizing "Chained," Coexist takes the listener on a journey through the ... read more

SnowyFighter
61

Imagine if all of our album covers were just X’s haha wouldn’t that be funny

This feels like a step down from their debut. Their debut had so much character, and while it was still simple, it showed a lot more interesting ideas that it built off of. Here, it kinda just feels like they are using the same ideas over and over again, to where the songs just sorta blend together and don’t have much character to them. They don’t really stand out that much, and most of the ... read more

Quet
81

While The xx didn’t keep the adventure of their self-titled debut on Coexist, they definitely didn’t lose the interest.

Vespatang
80

The echoing, bright sounds and the union between the two vocalists create a soundscape that I can't help but find charming.
Coexist was also an album that was released during my time at university so it puts me in a time and place that is special on a personnel level.

FilipeCarmona
90

After their debut album "xx" they maintained the shy and chilly vibe to their sound and, although there's some highlights, it just seems an extended version of their first work. Not that I think that is somehow bad since the first take was grand, it just feels it's making the same step but with some little less care to it, like a guaranteed victory. Which is not.

I have to say that I truly love "Angels" and "Try". Other than that, it has the same feeling I ... read more

ilikejackwhite
70

Not as good as the last on but still my cup of tea

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Track List

1Angels
2:51
88
2Chained
2:47
74
3Fiction
2:56
68
4Try
3:15
67
5Reunion
3:57
74
6Sunset
3:38
76
7Missing
3:33
70
8Tides
3:01
81
9Unfold
3:02
73
10Swept Away
4:59
73
11Our Song
3:13
66
Total Length: 37 minutes
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Added on: June 1, 2012