Xiu Xiu Covers John Congleton and the Nighty Nite

Xiu Xiu Release Cover Of
John Congleton’s “Just Lay Still” on SPIN
From Latest Record, 
Until The Horror Goes
 

“Art that doesn’t challenge [me] is not interesting to me. I’m intoxicated by stuff that I don’t understand, ‘cause at the end of the day I—if I get something out of that, I’m a better producer, I’m a better listener, I’m a better everything.” –John Congleton

Experimental darlings Xiu Xiu have just released a cover of acclaimed producer/artistJohn Congleton’s “Just Lay Still,” one of the more bizarre tracks off John Congleton and the Nighty Nite’s Until The Horror Goes. 

Xiu Xiu and John Congleton share a similar desire for musical exploration and experimentation. Xiu Xiu just released Plays The Music Of Twin Peaks, a musical tribute to one of the 1990’s most beloved (and bizarre) television shows—but their latest effort is a tribute to artist John Congleton.

Until the Horror Goes, Grammy award-winning producer (Swans, St. Vincent, David Byrne, Explosions In the Sky, etc.) John Congleton’s debut full-length album as John Congleton and the Nighty Nite, is a howling, sardonic document of existential angst.  Released April 1 on Fat Possum Records, Until the Horror Goes rows firmly against the placating currents of popular music. Crafting a genre of his own, Congleton creates a kind of horror-gospel mixing unflinching examinations of modern life with humor, high art with low culture.  Pop melodies given voice by massive and unexpected orchestration live within wild sounds and atonality.

Xiu Xiu’s version of “Just Lay Still” takes this twisting, electronic “horror gospel,” which its nightmarish lyrics, and translates it from a dark, pounding track to a slower, whispered, plaintive cry over a haunting backing track. This haunting collaboration between two of the current music world’s most experimental, “out there” artists is something not to be missed—just maybe don’t listen to it right before bedtime.

Listen to Xiu Xiu’s cover here, and be sure to check out the original track here.