Xiu Xiu - A Promise Review

Xiu Xiu A Promise

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Tracklist:
1. Sad Pony Guerilla Girl
2. Apistat Commander
3. Walnut House
4. 20,000 Deaths For Eidelyn Gonzales, 200,000

Deaths For Jamie Peterson
5. Pink City
6. Sad-Redux-o-Grapher
7. Blacks
8. Brooklyn Dodgers
9. Fast Car
10. Ian Curtis Wishlist

Release Date: 2003

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3.3
great

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On 4 Lists

4.0
excellent

Nick Greer STAFF (132 Reviews)

2006-03-20 | 26 comments | 1,665 views

Summary: Grinding, experimental, and electronic, but ultimately highly personal and beautiful.

Xiu Xiu - A Promise

As a preface to this review, pitchforkmedia.com is really just a giant grundle of a website, isn't it. They epitomize all that is bad in hyping artists that genuinely suck in their simplifications of indie, or in hyping mainstream rap for whatever arbitrary reason. Was Cam'ron's Purple Haze a Top 10 Album of 2005? I don't even know anymore. What I do know though, is that pitchfork has given me one thing I do like, and even then they gave it to me by accident through their bullshit understanding of genre. On their site, Xiu Xiu was labeled as post-hardcore and experimental, which sounded right up my alley. And though Xiu Xiu isn't really post-hardcore, and they probably aren't up any sane person's alley, they produced a really powerful, compelling album in A Promise. Xiu Xiu sounds like a mix of post-punk, indie, and experimental that really grinds on the listener. Imagine the depressive sadness of Joy Division, the tonal variety of Animal Collective, and the experimental tendencies of Aphex Twin finding their groove in this album, which despite its influences, is driven by the craft of songwriting.

Xiu Xiu's songs come across as incredibly autobiographical as if from a singer-songwriter, even though these songs are anything but conventional acoustic ballads. The head of the band and singer, Jamie Curtis, invokes this sensation due to his incredibly melodramatic performance. He sounds equal parts delicate and forceful considering his voice can oscillate from a tortured whisper to a harrowing scream from moment to the next. This effect isn't the typical emo loud-soft dynamic, but it sounds more like the chattering and raving of a madman. It really is actually frightening at moments. Through moments of self-deprecation, sexual harassment, and violence, the vocals produce that strange mix of aggression and weakness that makes the voice so compelling. If you're a fan of a distinct vocal presentation, you should automatically look into this band, as I haven't heard anybody else produce the same unusual variety of tortured emotions that Stewart has on this album.

To understand the instrumentation of Xiu Xiu, you'd probably do well off by thinking of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone meets Bright Eyes meets Nine Inch Nails meets Aphex Twin. Electronics are heavy on this album, but in a non-traditional way. This isn't "electronica." This album uses electronics in the same way bands like Thrice use screaming, to produce certain emotional heights at certain moments. With Xiu Xiu, all the beats (which often careen and are non-repeating) are electronic and there is some live instrumentation in the guitar and piano at different moments. Other than that this album is an amalgam of grating and confusing tones, thrown together in such a way to elicit fear, sadness, and beauty all at the same time. I'm particularly a fan of the use of industrial inflections at different moments on the album. "Apistat Commander"'s powerful chorus is amplified by the banging of metallic sounds in the background while a synthesizer whines away the poignant chord progression. It's this extra grind of the metal clinking together that adds a little extra to the crescendos on this and other songs. Some songs ("Pink City") use electronics to create a dense and frightening soundscape that is painfully grinding the whole time. Other songs like "Sad-Redux-O-Grapher" use electronics to reenact cheesy science fiction computer blipping. That when paired with whistling, violin, and vocals, makes the song have a peculiar flavor unlike any I've heard before. Xiu Xiu uses a diversity of sounds and tone combinations to produce some of the more original flavors I've ever heard. That coupled with the unusual vocal performance makes this album truly rare.

However, there are more than a few negatives to this level of experimentation. Some of the songs grind way too hard. "Pink City" and the bridge of "Sad Pony Guerilla Girl" are unlistenable at moments. Sometimes, that bridge makes me shiver so badly I can't listen to it. That's an extremely power physical response that the song does to me. It can be argued that that's a good thing, that music can inspire such strong emotions that it physically makes me wrench, but for some reason that section, which makes me think of S&M, sexual abuse, and child beating with its weird slapping noises, is such a strong, incongruous section, that I don't think the power to evoke the emotional and physical reaction is worth the pain. Or maybe I'm just a pussy. Either way this music is powerful, and sometimes Xiu Xiu oversteps the mark with the weird sounds. All in all though, most of the weirdness is coupled with beautiful melodies so despite the shiver-inspiring electronics and industrial noises, a lot of the album is as beautiful is at is hideous, which is an interesting and wonderful duality to maintain.

Recommended Tracks: "Apistat Commander," "Sad-Redux-O-Grapher," "Blacks," "Fast Car," and 3/4 of "Sad Pony Guerilla Girl"

Post Script - If you're intrigued but need an easier way to get into the band check out their incredibly catchy Fabulous Muscles. Also, mad props to the review of this album on pitchfork. Quite well written.

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