“Say Something Loving,” The xx’s power ballad about intimacy in the modern age, is one of the breakout songs from their latest album I See You. The music video for the song, released yesterday, juxtaposes ‘80s camcorder footage of London, videogame arcades and skateboarding footage to suggest the teenage years of a prior generation. Though The xx would probably disavow any connection, there is a distinct resemblance between the video’s composition and that of the video for Rick Astley’s infamous “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
This is the second music video The xx have released from I See You, the first being “On Hold.” Watch the “Say Something Loving” video above and read Paste’s 2010 Best of What’s Next feature on The xx here.