Swept Away

British indie pop trio the xx began work on their sophomore album Coexist in November 2011 with the same writing process of Jamie Smith in charge of production duties, and singer-guitarist Romy Madley Croft and singer-bassist Oliver Sim penning the lyrics and melodies. However, the latter pair approached the writing in a different way than their self-titled debut set. "Oliver and I used to write lyrics by exchanging ideas over e-mail," Madley Croft Spin magazine. "This time we actually worked together live in a room. I think that means there's more of an openness and vulnerability on the new album."

Smith's role changed as well, as evidenced by such house-influenced tracks as this one. "He was much more involved earlier on with the songs," explained Madley Croft. "On the first album there were songs that we'd written before he was really part of the band. For the new songs, Jamie was able to take things in a different way rhythmically than he had before. Our level of collaboration really grew."

This song represents Coexist's heaviest groove. "It took the longest of all the songs on the album," said Madley Croft to Spin. "It began as a slightly more ballad-y thing with just me and Oliver, and then Jamie brought in a 909 drum machine."

During the BBC radio 1 documentary Night Time With the xx, Sim discussed how growing up had affected the lyric writing for Coexist. "Our first songs were fantastical experiences about love – we were only 16, we didn't know a lot and we hadn't really gotten up to much," said Sim. "But as time went on it became about stuff we were going through. I thought this new album would be like a diary, because now we've actually had those experiences, but I've actually found myself reverting more to the fantastical – I've been storytelling, writing about how things could play out in my head, rather than how they have."