Merlinpeen's Annual Hit Parade (four)

Very very late, I know, quickly quickly; and now I have spilt tea on the keyboard so the rrrrrrrrrr key's a bit sticky, this shall have to be short & fabulous:

4.
The xx
xx

A gang of bloody annoyingly precocious teenagers, hailing from Putney's Elliot Comp, seemingly a bizarrely groovy school, boasting many modern, musical, ex-student luminaries; including Four Tet, Hot Chip & Burial. Mixing a bit of early goth & shoegaziness with a bit of quiet minimalist & modern electronica, the lethargic tension of the boy-girl vocals sets the comedown mood. Unlike a lot of today's flavours of the months, there's no burying of songs in a shitload of shredding guitars & bunging some shouty nonsense on top to make granddad feel a bit uncomfortable, they let their songs breathe, the sense of space more effectively conjuring a palpable uneasiness. Miserably sexy.