8. I See You / The xx

Jamie xx crystallizes neon on The xx's third record, encasing the trio's nocturnal sound with a vibrant new glow.  After his stellar solo debut In Colour, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the band's palette would include a wider array of his EDM, UK garage, and rave flourishes.  I See You still shimmers under the romantic spells of Oliver Sim and Romy Madley-Croft, but the tracks are now cast in technicolor.

The most compelling part of the trio's music may be the negative space -- the naked pulses between notes, the longing build-up, the airiness of it all -- as if listeners are always stepping into the crisp chill of a London night, with light gleaming into the street from scattered windows.  The music moves and breathes with confidence, vulnerable, utterly gorgeous, and riddled with emotion.

Eight years in, there is still some mystery surrounding The xx.  The vocal restraint.  The cool remove.  The lyrics never revealing too much.  Sim and Madley-Croft wade into dreamy ambiguity despite their human desires, and their give-and-take sounding more urgent than ever.  The result is music as film, complete with suspense and dramatic arcs, as the rising action teases out and then climaxes in rushes or falls, powered by their combined voices or Jamie xx's production.

Unlike Coexist, which may have languished a little too long in the heartbreak of loneliness, I See You rekindles romance, leaving more room for the possibility of connection.  These are ultimately songs for lovers and dreamers.  Chase the elusive and you just might find it, go on, I dare you.