john cabrera

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The xx - Crystalised

When Pitchfork names an under-the-radar band to its Best New Music catalog (this requires a band’s album to have received a rating of 8.0 or higher), careers get made. This became staggeringly evident in 2005 when the previously unknown indie outfit Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah landed on the BNM and subsequently went into heavy rotation on every hipster iPod in the land. Four years later, though, other outlets crowd the indie crit field, tempering Pitchfork’s influence, The BNM Boost is still guaranteed — for better or worse — to bring a band some new listeners. At least the latest newbies to get the Pitchfork push deserve it. Young, British, new wave revivalists The xx spin the old genre a new way—with R & B stylings. Here’s what you need to know about them.