The Thrill Of Affection

The xx “Say Something Loving”

The xx have become significantly less minimalist on their new album I See You, integrating the samples and muted dance music aesthetics of Jamie xx’s solo material while still sounding exactly like the xx. The shift isn’t drastic – pretty much all of this still can be described as “minimal” compared to most other things and the music still is all about creating a powerful sense of intimacy. Romy and Oliver, both openly queer in real life, still sound like a very intense straight couple when they sing to each other. But the sound is brighter, less static. The world implied in their songs feels a lot bigger than just the two of them in close quarters.

“Say Something Loving” is about finding love again after being starved for affection for a long time, and the conflict between feeling happy and grateful for this good fortune, and terrified that you’ll screw it up somehow. “I wasn’t patient to meet you,” Oliver sings. “Am I too needy, am I too eager?” They articulate these anxieties but don’t let those feelings overtake the song, keeping the emphasis on the warmth and affection. They evoke a specific moment a lot of us have experienced: Getting exactly what we want but spoiling it by thinking the whole time about how it’s going to go away.

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