XX - a Teen Band With a Difference - Case Study Example

XX Album Review Initial Impression The XX is one of the acclaimed English bands that have rocked the airwaves of pop lovers for about four years now. The band was formed in London in the year 2008 and has made various milestones in the field of music. In the year 2009, the group produced their initial album XX. The group produced this album in a rather profound manner because they did not have as much confidence as it would be required. The band members are Jamie Smith, Oliver Sim and Romy Croft. All these members are 23 as of now and met while in Elliott School. Going through the various aspects and characteristics of their work is important in that it enables one to understand the band even better. The album XX was a simple album and was not complicated in terms of the songs contained in it and the meanings that they contained. The album received a great perception from their fan base in England. The band winning the Mercury Music Prize in the year 2010 catalyzed this. This led to more people gaining interest in the band because they had to satisfy their eagerness to know which band that was. I was also able to understand the setting of the band from the album in that I acquired the album before it sold out in all the most possible stores in the country. The album received a boost by having a name on Metacritic. It received a “Universal acclaim” title that is one of the rarest titles offered by Metacritic. The album was rated minimalistic as a characteristic but was considered profound in the music industry. On 13 August 2009, the Guardian magazine carried out a survey of the band. This was important in that it went on to promote this band to areas that did not have information about it. In the study and review of the band, the magazine rated the album XX from the band as one of the most successful teenage albums of all time. This is from the fact that the number of teenage bands that have developed and failed is astounding and having this band make such amazing progress with just two albums was a major revolution in this genre of music. This was a major point of inspiration for me as I ventured into understanding more of their music to help me understand the pop culture even further. Intro Intro is the introductory track produced by the rock band and is in the XX album. Being the first track of the album, the song had a lot of responsibility in that it had to have the listener and in this case an example of me, look forward to the next songs in the album. It is from this fact that the band decided to put all the vocal content together in the song. This ensured that all the members of the band presented their all that would lead to different types of listeners enjoying the vocal originality of each member. Personally, the track did not do much for me as it did not have specific messages to pass on to the listeners. The ranking of the track was among the top ten songs in the billboard for a total of seven weeks making it the first rock song in 20 years to have a position in the board. The song assisted the group gather a large amount of followers and despite the fact that it lacked any precise message passed by the song, the audio and vocal capabilities of the artists were able to capture the attention of the audience. The positive aspect that I can state about the song is that its astral was able to get producers’ attention and thus the ability to get recording deals with large companies that consequently led to more circulation of its music. Over the following two years, the album had the ability to perform well in the music industry and achieved this with assistance from its spatial feel that assisted in eliminating the form of void previously existent. This was a major point that made me understand the group to an even further perspective. Heart Skipped a Beat Another song from the album which to focus on is Heart Skipped a Beat. This song was a very large hit in the album. This is from the fact that it had the ability to have messages that relate to people and their daily lives. I found the song to focus on the romantic side of relationships and heartbreaks. In the contemporary world, there are different types of relationships and it is normal for relationships to fall off at some point. Having the song focus on such information made it rather effective in that people purchased the album to listen to the song and heal their heartbreaks and such. Over the romantic month of February in the year 2010, the lead singer of the band states that the song was listened to more than any other song in the album that made it rather influential in the popularity module of the band. I can relate to this from the fact that it was one of my most preferred songs of that period. Heart skipped a beat was also influential in that it received a large audience from the female community and at a personal level my sister was affected. Most of England’s teenage sensation music was always about women and the manner in which men appreciate their physical characteristics. As opposed to other countries that had developed to overcome such form of stigma, the country was still well behind in terms of social development. The fact that the song discussed the manner through which someone’s heart and in representation, a woman’s heart skips a beat is effective to show changes made in the industry given their age at the time. Out of five stars, I can give the song a rating of four stars from its clear and concise message. My sister assisted me understand the lyrics of the song and get what females go through and thus appreciate their struggles. Fantasy Fantasy is another song in the album. This song has a lot of effect on the listener from the fact that Romy Croft is one of the writers that has a rather wild effect on listeners. In the song, the lyrics comprise a person asking his mate whether it is appropriate to come back early. This is from the fact that the numbers of people that have long distance relationships are many in the contemporary world. The intimacy portrayed in the song is of a very high degree showing the manner in which one party of the relationship cannot live completely free of the other and thus the need of them to stay together. This is inspirational in that it shows the manner through which I can have an effectively run relationship with minimal issues surrounding it. From the title of the song, it is clear that the party far from the other is always in a fantasy mood when thinking about the other. XX band made a hit from it in that it is dark while still at the same time presenting an aura of romance. The darkness is brought in areas where it states that tomorrow is too soon and that he misses his mate a lot. This brings a sense of darkness in the situation. However, the trance like state of the song is influential to making it seem rather bright and creating a conflict of association. I relate to the song in that I can visit a club, have the music played, and accordingly dance to the beat. The ability to pull this off well was important to bring out the rock sense of the song clearly. The rating of this song is very high given that it was position 6 in the top ten British playlist making it even more accessible for other people worldwide. From a personal point of view, the song should have five stars in that the beats and the trance aspect offer it a lively mood. Impression of the Album from Various Venues XX is one album that should receive a lot of credit from the different characteristics that it has shown over the past years. The album has many songs that human beings have had the ability to relate. The fact that the artists have had the ability to mix their different characteristics has made it even easier for the fans to understand their music. Listening to their music has had different effects depending on the location and the means through which the music is played and I get that effect. One of the manners through which this is experienced is by listening to the music from clubs. In music clubs and related areas of partying, the music is got in a rather trance like manner. The people have fun and despite the fact that some of the songs may come off as slow; they do not have much effect on the emotional side of people. However, having listened to the music in a place with minimal noise and with a slow evening like mood, I found out that the songs seek to draw some kinds of emotions from the people having them feel all mushy in that they get to listen to the information in the music in an in depth kind of manner. I understand this aspect in that there are times that I miss my family when I am far away and this is the only way to understand them. The instruments that play the music also affect the presentation of the music in a rather extended manner. Listening to the songs presented by this group in a music concert is different from the other type of music listened to in a calm environment. In the music concert, the live instruments made the music much livelier as compared to having it in a system. The impression I got of the album from listening to it from the live location is that the music is not only for sending messages to the fans but also for having fun. The concert was very lively and had many people attending. The album thus appeared rather fan worthy from the fact that the dance floor in the venue was full of people dancing and jumping to the tunes played. I also got the chance to listen to the music from a rather completely different location and this was at a family gathering. In the summer of 2011, the album had rocked airwaves to a point where even the older adults were listening to the songs. As opposed to the previously stated reason of having joy and celebration, this group of people listens to music as a therapeutic means of livelihood. At the family social function and after having enough to eat and merry, I was able to understand that the slow music can be used to light the mood in a location. Upon the music being put by a relative, I was able to witness different couples at the function stand up and start having slow dances along to the tunes and lyrics that the song came with. Another venue or rather different location that I used to gain an understanding of the music was in a road trip that I took with my friends. In the road trip, the music was put in and the tunes that the album created were coordinated with what we were doing. Shaking our heads along to the music and trying to link our activities ensured that the people understood the music clearly. The music went along well also with all the camping and related ventures that we took upon to get a rather concise mood that had us relaxed and having fun at the same time. Overall Evaluation of the Album The ability of these songs to capture the attention of different audience and pass messages without lacking the fan aspect ensured that the album went on well to earn the group a lot of credit not only in Britain but also in different parts of the world. Having established themselves clearly in England ensured that the country received a rather important boost in the music industry. This earned them a place in the music arena and thus people in different areas of the world started paying attention to the type of music that XX band produced. The album did a rather proper job in ensuring that the band was in the limelight. Despite this factor, it was very hard for their second album to hit as much as their first. There are various reasons as to why the first beat the second album in terms of success. One of the reasons I found was humility. In the beginning, the band was rather calm and produced songs only after clear consultations with the appropriate people. However, after the band started having a lot of money from the first album, they sort to focus on tours where they would market their music. Other than making a name for their music, the group relaxed and stopped working as hard as it had earlier. This had the group cut their profits and thus the reason as to why they have been under the grid over the past two years. However, it is rumored that the group is working with a new manager to ensure that they achieve their set goals and get back to the music scene. Despite all the negativity associated with the group over the past few years, the album XX was a landmark in that it touched on people across all gender, race and age. This has earned the group a lot of fame worldwide. Work Cited Rogers, Jude. XX- A Teen Band With a Difference. 2009. Retrieved on 9th December 2012 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/aug/13/xx-teen-band Read More