XIU XIU
Shares Dual Single Release “Arp Omni / Veneficium”
LISTEN to “Arp Omni” | WATCH “Veneficium” Video
From New Album
13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips
Out September 27, 2024 via Polyvinyl
WORLD TOUR DATES
(L-R: Angela Seo + Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu by Eva Luise Hoppe [not pictured: David Kendrick)
“{“Common Loon” is} three and a half minutes of dark, heavy melodramatic rock.” - Brooklyn Vegan
“Noise pop experimentalists Xiu Xiu are back doing what they do best: writing a genuinely sticky, well-constructed tune and subsequently running it through a meat grinder. On “Common Loon,” surprisingly gentle melodies collide with buzzsaw tones and maximalist production for one of Xiu Xiu’s most approachable songs since 2017’s Forget. All the more reason to look forward to the September 27th release of their new LP, 13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips.” - Consequence (Staff Picks: Best Songs of the Week)
“Since 2017’s FORGET, Xiu Xiu has been alternating between projects defined by abrasive noise and more “accessible” albums that still sound distinct from bands of the past and the future. Considering Ignore Grief fell deep into the dark abyss of industrial music, the pendulum this time was primed to swing in the other direction. ‘Common Loon’ somewhat follows that trend but takes the best elements of Xiu Xiu’s duality and obliterates what anyone could have expected throughout their prolific 20+ year career. A relatively straightforward guitar deceptively starts matters off on a simple note, with an explosion of pedalboards and synthesizers soon after. Somehow, the chain reaction comes together without erupting on itself, thanks to a synergy that Stewart and longtime member Angela Seo had locked in before Kendrick’s arrival. Stewart’s typically haunting vocals are omnipresent across the track, just barely audible over the walls of an effect-heavy guitar. So much so that the at-first esoteric lyrics, while buried in a coffin underneath the cacophony of instruments, are still there for listeners to discover the underlying queer themes…’Common Loon,’ mixed to audacious perfection by John Congleton (Lana Del Rey), is an early promise of what could be Xiu Xiu’s best project, a considerable feat when stacked against their daring catalog. Given the many times the band has changed over the years, their new material avoids any concern of plateauing, leaving nothing but anticipation for what’s next.” - Grimy Goods
“Xiu Xiu is back! I feel like the band hasn’t come out with something this overtly and directly catchy since the Wondering era… that Xiu Xiu spectrum tends to slide between stuff that is post-punk-y, lo-fi, kind of direct and has a bit of an indie appeal, and other records are far more avant garde, harsh, experimental, abstract and noisy… this new single is pretty hooky by general Xiu Xiu standards and quite sweet on the ears… it’s fuzzy, melodic, groovy, a really enjoyable listen.” - The Needle Drop (Best Tracks This Week)
“‘Common Loon’ has a bit of a triumphant feel to it, marked by arpeggiated electric guitars, a steady chugging beat, and Jamie Stewart’s ominous vocals.” - Stereogum
Over the course of the last two decades, Xiu Xiu’s prolific and influential output of acclaimed albums and collaborations has been consistently dazzling. They’ve released 17 full-length LPs that have been praised in outlets such as The New Yorker, The Wire, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, NME and many others. They have toured the globe relentlessly, performing in places as far off the beaten path as Kazakhstan and Lebanon and places institutionally vital as the Guggenheim and Centre Pompidou.
Today Xiu Xiu shares a dual single release for the songs "Arp Omni," a swelling, textural string-filled ballad, and the jolting, maximalist, industrial prog-pop banger "Veneficium." Both songs appear on the new album 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips, due for release September 27, 2024 via Polyvinyl. On 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips, Angela Seo, David Kendrick, and Jamie Stewart deliver some of the band’s most compelling and mesmerizing music to date. Mixed by John Congleton (Chelsea Wolfe, Swans, Lana Del Rey) this album is unlike anything the band has ever recorded previously and was motivated by the destruction of previous aesthetic notions, as well as the band's recent move from Los Angeles to Berlin.
According to Xiu Xiu, “Arp Omni” is “A little sweetie ballad about falling for a person who takes risks in life,” while “Veneficium” is about “Being lost; literally lost, emotionally lost, lost in a smashed psychological dimension beyond your control, being overwhelmed by the weight of one’s insignificance in the face of time, space and death, and pointlessly railing against what does not notice let alone care about you.”
The release of the two songs is accompanied by visuals, including a beautiful visualizer for “Arp Omni directed by Lin You, and a thrilling, visually stunning allegorical video for “Veneficium” directed by Luke Orlando, bookended by cameos from Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo as “Toast Masters.”
Jamie Stewart shares: "A Veneficium is an instance of being poisoned or the preparation of magic potions or the substances that make up a poison. The point of any involvement with said substances or pursuits is at best meddling with risky and significant transformation and at worst taunting the nefarious, even up to the point of death. Either way, what lies in wait on the path to these in between and far away places from our present world is dangerous and unsettling and unknown. But perhaps also and why not, it could be being turned into a psychedelic BDSM train or the inspiration to benevolent and anonymous used toast and toaster delivery."
Director Luke Orlando shares: "On the conceptual level, I wanted to make something about the absurdity and complexity of how we connect with each other in the modern world. It started off as a critique of doomscrolling, but Xiu Xiu pushed and enabled me to make it more esoteric and interesting at every turn. Where we ended up is a much more positive spin on finding community by openly sharing your interests with the world. In the end it became a very ideal art project - I found myself working with some of my best friends to hand-paint toast, fabricate a bespoke costume, and create a unique logic inspired by the occult for the world in this video. Videos like this don’t happen often because artists/directors are rarely given the freedom to create without inhibition, and for that I thank Xiu Xiu and everyone at Polyvinyl for letting me go off."
LISTEN to “Arp Omni” | WATCH “Veneficium” Video
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