Top TV Song Last Week: Intro by The xx
Outer Banks returned for a second season on Netflix and featured the most popular song on Tunefind last week. Vibey alt-rock tracks and beach jams soundtrack the Pogues’ adventures this season. Last week’s top song is a moody, instrumental from an atmospheric English indie pop group. This song is a TV favorite with over a dozen sync placements to date.
Intro
by The XX
from Outer Banks Soundtrack · Season 2 · Episode 7 · The Bonfire
Rafe looks through Ward’s closet.
It’s a very emotional time for the Cameron family. The moody beats of ‘Intro’ begin as Rafe walks through his father’s closet. He touches the watches and puts on Ward’s jacket. The song continues as Topper sets up a place for Sarah to stay over before fading out.
“‘Intro’ has such a cool vibe to it on its own, but we felt it was an especially great fit for this moment where Rafe is in a dark headspace, trying on his father’s jacket,” Mad Doll Music shared with Tunefind. “We thoroughly enjoy soundtracking the Pogues’ adventures, and we are thrilled that there is so much interest not only in the show, but in the soundtrack as well.”
‘Intro’ was released in August 2009 on The xx debut album called xx. The album highlights minimalist arrangements and a melancholic sound. The album was released by an imprint label of XL Recordings called Young Turks. The band’s Jamie Smith produced the record on his laptop and then mixed with audio engineer Rodaidh McDonald. The album was a hit, reaching number three on the UK Albums Chart, number one on The Guardian’s Chart, and number two on NME’s best of the year list. In 2010, xx won the Mercury Prize. In 2013, xx was ranked number 237 on NME magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The band consists of Jamie Smith–aka Jamie xx–on beats and production, Romy Madley Croft on guitar and vocals, Oliver Sim on bass guitar and vocals, and formerly Baria Qureshi on keyboard and guitar. The group formed in 2005 in Wandsworth, London. The xx credit American R&B producers like The Neptunes and Timbaland for influencing their sound with features such as vocal harmonies, clapping percussion, and prominent bass beats.
The xx released their first single ‘Crystalised’ in early 2009, before the release of their debut album xx. After the departure of Baria Qureshi from The xx, the trio released a pair of singles, ‘Angels’ and ‘Chained,’ followed by their second album Coexist in September 2012. In 2015, Jamie Smith released his solo debut, In Colour featuring contributions from bandmates Sim and Croft. The xx released another single called ‘On Hold’ in 2016 to introduce their third album in 2017 called I See You. Both the second and third albums landed the number one spot on the UK Albums Chart upon release, as well as the fifth and second spot on the Billboard 200 respectively.
The xx was initially ignored by major media outlets but benefited from licensing their music to television programs, commercial advertisements, and movies. Much of their debut success can be attributed to their countless sync placements, which are listed on The xx artist page on Tunefind.
More
〉Listen now: Intro by The xx
〉More music by The xx
〉Full list of songs in the Outer Banks soundtrack