Vinnie the Intern #15: WHY?'s Mumps, Ect. and The xx's Coexist

I am back with a couple album review/recommendations! This week I will be reviewing two highly anticipated albums. The first, WHY?'s Mumps, Ect. will be out next month, but has already leaked. The second, The xx's Coexist had big shoes to fit, but filled them nicely.
  

WHY? - Mumps, Ect (Out 10/09/2012 on Anticon)

With some of the sweetest sounding arrangements this year containing a mass of juxtaposing lyrical content, WHY? returns with their fifth full length album Mumps, Ect. This summer WHY? released their great Sod in the Seed EP. Watch the video for the title track off that EP below.

"I don't wear rubbers and I don't wear sunscreen...and I am not ok, boy" claims Yoni Wolf in a detailed account of a person that is clearly "not ok." "Strawberries," my favorite of the album, features a dizzily lush chorus with arpeggios. As usual with Yoni's lyrics: this album is at times hilarious, a little disturbing, and unapologetically confessional. 

Songs to check out: "Jonathan's Hope," "Strawberries," "Thirst," "White English," and "As A Card"

The xx - Coexist (Young Turks) 

As much as I loved their debut, I will say that this completely exceeded my expectations. The second "Angels" kicks in with its crackling snare, you know this album is going to be hard hitting without any gigantic climaxes. This is not their debut, I feel that as a band, they have grown. In my opinion, it is a more atmospheric, hazier xx with glowing and airy instrumentals. 

Songs to check out: "Angels," "Chained," "Fiction," "Sunset," and "Swept Away."