In a year already bursting with great new music, Xylos’s self-titled debut has easily been one of 2011’s brightest surprises. One of the best examples of the Brooklyn band’s fructose-sweet sound comes in the form of “X-Ray,” the album’s latest single.
“X-Ray” isn’t just a great track based on individual merit, but one that also serves as a clear lens into the band’s general summertime feel. The five-piece’s heartbeat starts with Monika Heidemann’s airy, effortlessly nectarous voice and blossoms out from there. Behind her dances an array of instrumentation highlighted by fluttering percussion, little snaps of bubbly electronics and synths, and playful sprinkles of hand clap effects. With “X-Ray,” each of these band-defining elements are thrust to the front and packed into one of their album’s catchiest ditties, a fruitful little pop number that feels perfectly suited to serve as the soundtrack to your next beach visit.
The thing is, “X-Ray” isn’t a particularly complex piece, a testament to the band’s ability to craft fine pop songs without having to go through the motions of reinventing the wheel. The catchy chorus-verse-chorus-verse song structure, the compact packaging (the track clocks in at under four minutes), and the way the arrangement sounds simultaneously simple and busy have all been done countless times before, but Xylos pull it off with refreshing ease. It’s that ease – that poise and proficiency – that make this song a must for summer playlists and helps to establish this New York five-top as one to keep a keen eye on going forward.
