live review: the xx. somerset house. 13 july 2010

i’m indifferent to the xx. to me, their main purpose is to provide the bbc with background music. and for this, they serve their purpose spectacularly, particularly on bbc3 red button festival coverage. a live performance, however, is beyond them. i didn’t notice them enter the stage, nor did I see them leave. the first 20 minutes of the set was alright, i almost enjoyed their haunting, melodic, trademark sound. however, this became fucking dull. they lack charisma and stage presence. i sometimes wonder if this is a contrived move on their part to ensure they remain enigmatic and mysterious. it doesn’t work. i don’t even think (warning: in-joke) a pint of wine could have saved me! oh, and one more thing – you cannot count a pre-recorded cover of ‘you got the love’ as an encore. rip off. mind you, i thought they were on stage at this time… shows how much attention i paid.

words by emma salter