“Chained” is the second song revealed off The xx’s upcoming album Coexist. Romy Madley-Croft’s ethereal croon and Oliver Sim’s deeper tone form the duet, separating on each lush verse and coinciding for the dark, R&B-inspired chorus — where the duo repeats “We used to get closer than this / Is it something you missed?” over a swelling synth pad. The bridge features a guitar lead that slowly heightens its pitch, setting up again for the chilling chorus. Another reason to look forward to the full-length.
The xx will release Coexist on September 11th in the U.S. and the 10th elsewhere. Like their 2009 debut, it will be released on British indie label Young Turks. The band has stated previously that Coexist would be inspired by “club music”. “Chained is certainly more representative of that inspiration than previously released “Angels“. Jamie Smith said: “We’ve all come back off tour and been partying a bit more. We left when we were 17 and we missed out on that chunk of our lives when everyone else was partying. Club music has definitely had an influence on the next record.”
The tracklisting for Coexist:
01 Angels
02 Chained
03 Fiction
04 Try
05 Reunion
06 Sunset
07 Missing
08 Tides
09 Unfold
10 Swept Away
11 Our Song
A ticket to any of their tour dates will also get you a free MP3 download of the album:
08-09 Sibenik, Croatia – Terraneo Festival
08-10 Budapest, Hungary – Sziget Festival
08-11 St Pere, France – La Route du Rock
08-18 St Polten, Austria – FM4 Frequency Festival
08-19 Biddinghuizen, Netherlands – Lowlands Festival
08-31 Laois, Ireland – Electric Picnic
09-07 Isle of Wight, England – Bestival
10-05 Vancouver, British Columbia – Vogue Theatre
10-06 Seattle, WA – Paramount Theater
10-07 Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
10-10 Las Vegas, NV – The Pool at the Cosmopolitan
10-11 San Diego, CA – Soma
10-12 Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
10-13 Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Forever Cemetery
10-14 San Francisco, CA – Treasure Island Fest
10-16 Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
10-17 Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater
10-19 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
10-20 Chicago, IL – Congress Theater
10-21 Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theatre
10-24 Quebec City, Quebec – Imperial De Quebec
10-25 Boston, MA – House of Blues
10-28 Bronx, NY – Paradise Theater
10-29 Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
10-30 Baltimore, MD – Ram’s Head Live
