The xx have today (November 19) released a deluxe version of their classic debut album with bonus tracks and covers. Check out all the information below.
The band took to Instagram to share the news that the deluxe edition was available to listen to today. A special deluxe vinyl version of the album is also available to pre-order here for release on December 5.
The band’s debut album ‘xx’ was released in 2009 to much critical acclaim, including a four star review from NME. We wrote: “The contrast between the reverberating spaces of their stripped-back sound and the almost insular intimacy of the soft, smoky duets is totally delicious…For the most part it seems like the space The XX have made for themselves is infinite.” The album later went on to win the Mercury Prize in 2010.
In a statement on Instagram about the new edition, the band wrote: “Today we’re releasing a deluxe version of our debut album, featuring some xx bonus tracks and covers, which is available to stream now. We also have a very special xx (Deluxe) Vinyl which is available to pre-order now and out on the 5th December.”
The Deluxe Edition bonus tracks include ‘Teardrops’ (Womack & Womack cover) ‘Do You Mind’ (Kyla cover), ‘Hot Like Fire’ (Aaliyah cover) as well as tracks ‘Insects’ and ‘Blood Red Moon.’
They added: “Going back to 2009 has brought up so many memories – it really does feel like another world. This album means a lot to us, and we hope it still means something to you too. Thank you for being here, always.”
Listen to the deluxe edition of the album here:
In a note to fans who’d signed up to their mailing list, the band also shared a handwritten note, which read: “Hello! It’s been a while, how are you? As many of you have been here since the very beginning, we wanted to let you know here first that we a releasing a deluxe edition of our debut album…2009 feels like a whole other world away, and it’s been amazing looking back on all the memories from that time.
“This album means a lot to us and we hope it does to you too. Thank you for your support, always.”
The xx are currently working on new music together. Their last album was 2017’s ‘I See You’, but they were pictured in the studio together in March this year, months after Jamie said they were “having a good time” working on things.
In September, they shared rehearsal footage, and they’ve also been announced to play a run of festivals next year including Coachella, Primavera Sound and Open’er.
Last year, the band’s Romy teamed up with Jamie xx and Oliver Sim, her bandmates in The xx, on the former’s single ‘Waited All Night’, which they performed on stage together in June during Jamie’s LIDO Festival headline set.
Earlier this month, Romy shared her touching new single, ‘Love Who You Love’. The singer described it as a “proudly queer love song”, while noting that it also served as a closing chapter to her 2023 debut solo album ‘Mid Air’. Romy said the song has been “in her care” since 2020.
Earlier this year, Romy released an EP, ‘Mid Air (Transcendence Remixes)’ EP which featured reworked tracks from the album of the same name. And last year, she shared a range of standalone singles including high-profile collaborations with Sampha and Jessie Ware.