Song · The xx
“Islands” by The xx
From the album xx (2009)
“Islands” by The xx appears on 6 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 2009 and 2025. It was first released in 2009 on the album xx. Its best result is #23 on the WFNX Top 101 Songs of 2010. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #211 alternative song of 2010.
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"Islands" comes off the xx's self-titled 2009 debut, xx, and went out that October as the album's third single, on Young Turks, on seven-inch and download. All four members of the day wrote it, Baria Qureshi included, and it runs on almost nothing: Romy Madley Croft's guitar, Oliver Sim's bass, Qureshi's keyboard and Jamie xx's drum machine, with a low pulse lifted from house music.
Croft and Sim share the vocal, two hushed voices circling loyalty and love as if afraid to say too much out loud. Jamie xx produced it and mixed it with Rodaidh McDonald. Saam Farahmand's video strings together tracking shots of six dancers moving around the band, each take shifting slightly, and NME later put it at number 28 on its list of the best tracks of the previous 15 years.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 56 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2009 | 100 |
| 2010 | 23 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 101 Songs of 2010 | 101 |
| 2010 | 52 | WBRU Providence, RI | WBRU Top 95 Songs of 2010 | 95 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 51 | BBC Radio 6 Music | BBC 6 Music 100 Best Tracks Of The Last 10 Years | 100 |
| 2022 | 764 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s | 907 |
| 2025 | 586 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
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