At the end of 2019, The xx suggested that they were readying to release new music in 2020 with a teasing Instagram post, writing, “We’ve all been working on new music, can’t wait to share it with you.” However, the band didn’t drop any new songs in 2020 and they have also yet to in 2021. In fact, there’s been no new music since the band’s latest album, 2017’s I See You. Now, though, it appears at the very least that the gears may be turning on new The xx music.
Today, the trio shared a nine-second video of themselves, a sped-up clip that shows the band performing something, although the audio has been muted. The band didn’t caption the post, but the comments are full of users speculating about and hoping for new music.
It’s also possible the band is working on something else not directly related to the band, as they’ve been known to appear on each other’s solo material. In August 2020, for example, Young Turks managing director Matthew Thornhill noted, “At the moment, all of The xx are working on solo projects. Young Turks artists always collaborate together and The xx are no different. [Romy Madley Croft] and [Oliver Sim] both sung on [Jamie xx’s] record, Jamie is producing tracks, along with other people, for Romy and Oliver, so there’s a lot of collaboration between the band. They’re all working independently and hopefully some of that will see the light of day this year from all of them.”
Speaking of solo albums, Croft started teasing one in early 2020 and shared a new single, “Lifetime,” that September. In a The Guardian profile from November 2020, Romy’s upcoming solo album was described, “The album currently consists of 17 new songs, floating around in various stages of production, and heading towards a 2021 release.” Earlier this month, Romy teamed up with Th3 Emma for “Hot Summer Ice Cream,” her first new song since “Lifetime.”
