January: gig season is on hiatus, festivals are forever away, therefore it's time to predict who'll be this year's big music success story. Already number 6 on NME's 2009 Future 50 list, on top of many a mag's list for 2010 will be Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim and Jamie Smith - collectively known as The XX.
A south west London trio playing Joy Division like dark, stylish electro pop, with dual girl/boy vocals and a dollop of My Bloody Valentine, the sound like Crystal Castles swapping the amphetamine fulled frenetics, for a chilled stoned Saturday.
Their debut self-produced album, XX, was released in August on Young Turks Records after being recorded in the garage of XL studios - the nocturnal environment blanketing The XX's record with a gorgeous but eery, melancholy sheen.
Currently on tour in Europe, The XX head to Australia and the Far East in February, then back to Europe, then the UK in March. But hurry - dates are already selling out...
Check out the videos for Basic Space and Crystalised below, plus listen to more on MySpace, Last.FM and Spotify - or buy the album now on Rough Trade or iTunes.