“I wouldn’t do that to you. I wouldn’t just leave us alone.”

I’ve tried to listen to Coexist, but I get three tracks in and just want to cry. Let me tell you, nothing good comes from being sensitive or being able to relate. It’s awful and gets in the way. That said, if I was numb and unable to feel I’d hate that. Music moves you. The sounds and the words. They move you in a way nothing else can. Sometimes a person has the same hold on you. You can let go, or keep a grip on it. I won’t tell you what to do. I know what I’d do, if it was right.

Attempting to listen to Coexist when horrifically tired and a bit of whiskey in my system (I went out, I didn’t sit and drink it on my own) has made the process of listening to this record. This sounds like I hate The XX and their new record. Far from it. Their debut record dragged me out of a rut. Coexist makes certain feelings a lot more clearer. It is just an honest record that I think anyone who listens to it, will truly see themselves in it. It is a personal reflection that is much needed. Especially when most modern music is just abysmal.

Romy and Oliver’s voices as usual just sound like a peaceful dream. The record sends you off in some kind of trip; you don’t know. It makes you want to sit the one you adore down, and just say..”Look, I am utterly shit with words. And I’m probably an awful person but please listen to this record because I love you and it says all I cannot say right now.” It is so open and honest. The sheer purity of it is enough to break the hardest of hearts. You can only act tough for so long before someone sees through. Or you see through yourself.

Love is something we all lose, and something we all find. It never ends or maybe, it just never starts. You never truly know. Yet, when you listen to Coexist it is like you are in love. The only other band that do this are Beach House. Both bands make every feeling you posses so gentle and frail- even if it is eating you alive. Songs like Missing and Sunset go right through your heart and break you. Longing pours out in this record, with songs like Tide. Guess you can only cling for so long. With love, one always seems to love the other more. When you find that another loves you as much as you love them; that’s when you know. You just know.

It’s difficult to write about such a personal record without being personal. I need to stop relating, but with Coexist, it is hard to do anything but relate. Of course they’ve grown up since their debut record but they’ve kept the honesty and the ethereal vibe that caused you to fall in love with them the first time. Their songs are the definition of love and falling in love. It is easy to feel lust, but love is totally different.

Every song comes from the heart, which is why you believe in every single word. I love The XX because they use gender-free lyrics. Anyone can relate. There is no “he” or “she.” It is all “you.” Which makes it easy for the listener to identify with.

There are a billion things I could say about Coexist, but it has already been said. So I guess in short, probably the best record of the year.