I'm John from Washington, D.C.

I'm Claire Zolke from Chicago, Illinois.

The Sound of Young America is an independent production supported by listeners like me.

If you'd like to support the show like I did, visit MaximumFund.org and click on donate.

I'm Jesse Thorne, live on tape from my house in Los Angeles.

It's the Sound of Young America from MaximumFund.org and PRI, public radio, international.

It's the Sound of Young America. I'm Jesse Thorne.

My guests, the band is the XX, released their first album very early in their 20s.

Last year, it was self-titled and almost universally acclaimed for its intimate, sparse, beautiful, atmospheric sound.

Here's a little bit of the lead single from that album, Basic Space.

I think I'm losing where you end and I begin.

Basic Space, open air.

Don't look away when there's nothing there.

I'm setting us in the storm, peace by peace before I'm alone at time before we pray.

Keep it in, keep us safe.

Pull up on it like song, getting in and it is said.

Got to feel this in, gonna just, I'm feeling, got to keep what I have.

We, the basic space, open air.

Romy Madley, Croft, Oliver Sim, Jamie Smith. Welcome to the Sound of Young America. It's great to have you.

Thank you.

Romy Oliver, you guys met at the age of three. Did you go to nursery school together?

Yeah, we met when we were three. I don't remember it, but I think our parents must have met taking us to nursery and then we spent more time together.

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