two years, Fabulous Muscles. While their mix of low-res electronics, flamboyant synth pop, and experimental rock sounds slightly more accessible than it has before, that just makes it easier for Jamie Stewart's confrontational vocals and lyrics to sink in that much deeper. As always, Xiu Xiu juxtapose their heroic doses of misery with lovely, if rough-edged, music: the drooping synth lines and chunky beats on "Crank Heart" and "Brian Vampire" sound like the music from some unspeakably sad video game, while "Little Panda McElroy"'s acoustic guitars have a hesitant prettiness that makes lyrics like "I can stop hating my own heart/I can do it because of you" even more intimate. Stewart either whispers obsessively or shout-sings, as if he's trying to drown out his own thoughts, and does both on the brilliantly morose "I Luv the Valley OH!," on which he vows, "It's a heart that you made/And I won't rest until I break it." More so than with many other bands, Xiu Xiu's music immerses the listener in the band's world view and the songs' characters: "Bunny Gamer" is an extraordinary portrait of yearning and self-loathing that begins as an internal monologue of an unrequited lover and then becomes a painful dialogue between him and the object of his affection, who is much more careless and carefree. The song's dead-calm desperation borders on the creepy and pathetic, but this is the uncomfortable territory that Xiu Xiu claim as their own. (DL)
Monday 29 January 2007
Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles
Xiu Xiu continue to push the envelope with their third album in
two years, Fabulous Muscles. While their mix of low-res electronics, flamboyant synth pop, and experimental rock sounds slightly more accessible than it has before, that just makes it easier for Jamie Stewart's confrontational vocals and lyrics to sink in that much deeper. As always, Xiu Xiu juxtapose their heroic doses of misery with lovely, if rough-edged, music: the drooping synth lines and chunky beats on "Crank Heart" and "Brian Vampire" sound like the music from some unspeakably sad video game, while "Little Panda McElroy"'s acoustic guitars have a hesitant prettiness that makes lyrics like "I can stop hating my own heart/I can do it because of you" even more intimate. Stewart either whispers obsessively or shout-sings, as if he's trying to drown out his own thoughts, and does both on the brilliantly morose "I Luv the Valley OH!," on which he vows, "It's a heart that you made/And I won't rest until I break it." More so than with many other bands, Xiu Xiu's music immerses the listener in the band's world view and the songs' characters: "Bunny Gamer" is an extraordinary portrait of yearning and self-loathing that begins as an internal monologue of an unrequited lover and then becomes a painful dialogue between him and the object of his affection, who is much more careless and carefree. The song's dead-calm desperation borders on the creepy and pathetic, but this is the uncomfortable territory that Xiu Xiu claim as their own. (DL)
two years, Fabulous Muscles. While their mix of low-res electronics, flamboyant synth pop, and experimental rock sounds slightly more accessible than it has before, that just makes it easier for Jamie Stewart's confrontational vocals and lyrics to sink in that much deeper. As always, Xiu Xiu juxtapose their heroic doses of misery with lovely, if rough-edged, music: the drooping synth lines and chunky beats on "Crank Heart" and "Brian Vampire" sound like the music from some unspeakably sad video game, while "Little Panda McElroy"'s acoustic guitars have a hesitant prettiness that makes lyrics like "I can stop hating my own heart/I can do it because of you" even more intimate. Stewart either whispers obsessively or shout-sings, as if he's trying to drown out his own thoughts, and does both on the brilliantly morose "I Luv the Valley OH!," on which he vows, "It's a heart that you made/And I won't rest until I break it." More so than with many other bands, Xiu Xiu's music immerses the listener in the band's world view and the songs' characters: "Bunny Gamer" is an extraordinary portrait of yearning and self-loathing that begins as an internal monologue of an unrequited lover and then becomes a painful dialogue between him and the object of his affection, who is much more careless and carefree. The song's dead-calm desperation borders on the creepy and pathetic, but this is the uncomfortable territory that Xiu Xiu claim as their own. (DL)
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