Unpacking The xx’s striking I See You mirri board box

The set includes three bonus tracks.

Today, the xx release their long-awaited third studio album I See You on standard vinyl, limited vinyl and as a heavyweight box set via Young Turks.

Where 2012’s Coexist re-spun their minimalist debut, I See You finds the London trio evolving like Pokémon into brighter, bigger and richer forms. ‘Dangerous’ opens the album with flaring fanfare horns and sets the upbeat pulse for an album that appears to takes many of its cues from Jamie xx’s debut album In Colour.

Jamie’s samples, synths and sequencers are the driving force behind the majority of songs, enabling the band to push their naked guitar structures in new instrumental directions. ‘On Hold’, released first as a single, even borrows a hook from Hall and Oates’ 1982 hit ‘I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)’.

We’re invited back into The xx’s trademark introspection at various points – like the tender back-and-forth between Croft and Sim on ‘I Dare’ or the willowy vulnerability of ‘Performance’ – and yet even in these moments, there’s quite clearly a push to move out of their established, and oft copied, comfort zone. If the aim was to pop open The xx sound whilst staying true to those shadowy roots, I See You certainly succeeds.

As well as the usual formats, the album has been released in a silver mirri board debossed hard box, which we got hold of for a closer look – see the gallery below.

The set includes: the album on vinyl with an extra 12″ of bonus tracks, the CD version of the album, an enhanced CD featuring a live video of ‘Brave For You (Marfa Demo)’ and three exclusive prints by Alasdair McLellan. Order the deluxe edition here.

01. Dangerous

02. Say Something Loving

03. Lips

04. A Violent Noise

05. Performance

06. Replica

07. Brave For You

08. On Hold

09. I Dare You

10. Test Me

A1. Naive

B1. Seasons Run

B2. Brave For You (Marfa Demo)