XIU XIU
New Album
13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips
Out Friday, 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)
Early praise for Xiu Xiu and 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips
Out Friday, September 27th, 2024 on Polyvinyl:
“{“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)
“Xiu Xiu evoke the post-punk masters of yore on ‘Veneficium,’ the potent second half of their new double A-side single. We’re hearing This Heat, Chrome… even a bit of Can-esque krautrock. Fuzzed-out bass and pocketed drums guide this alluring five-plus-minute track, another fine example of this band’s enduring artistry.” - Consequence (Heavy Songs Of The week/Essential Tracks)
“Xiu Xiu’s two new tracks — released as a double single alongside the announcement of their next album, 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips — sit opposite ends of the spectrum. While ‘Veneficium’ is an upbeat, raucous ride into the abyss, ‘Arp Omni’ is a slow, haunted love song — a ‘sweetie ballad about falling for a person who takes risks in life,’ according to the experimental rock trio. The song begins in pulsing darkness before the warm, gentle light of synth strings washes in. ‘With freckles as sparkling as yours / Who could dare to un-sparkle your dots,’ Jamie Stewart begins, his deep, quavering voice as shadowy as ever. After a series of similar professions, he turns his gaze inward. ‘I have done almost nothing right / My entire adult life / But having dared to touch the fire with you.’” - The FADER (Songs You Need In Your Life)
“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)
“{“Veneficium”} is the second single from it that I’ve found myself rather enamored with – it’s really a blast to … well, blast. Turn it up.” - Side One Track One
“‘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…The eerie band is back with the haunting album opener ‘Arp Omni’…and the ebullient banger “Veneficium.’” - 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.
Friday, September 27, 2024 will mark the release of new full-length 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips, 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.
13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips was announced in June with the enthralling lead single “Common Loon” which features squealing, anthemic, arpeggiated guitars countered by Jamie Stewart’s trademark haunting, confessional vocals, a song which Stewart calls: “A boogie embrace for queer perverts across the multiverse.” The release of “Common Loon” came with an NSFW video which was shot, directed, edited, and starring performance artist Alicia McDaid (aka Mcdazzler). According to Jamie Stewart: “The song ‘Common Loon,’ for us, is about reveling in perversity, cuckooness, queerness and/or the unquenchable personal requirement to wild out. As MASSIVE fans of Alicia McDazzler's work, we could think of no one else more qualified to embody those ways of being and no one else who would crank them up further than we would have ever imagined. She is an inspiration and icon to all LOONS!" Upon its release, “Common Loon” caught the attention of Brooklyn Vegan, Consequence, Dublab, Exclaim!, Grimy Goods, The Needle Drop, Pitchfork, Stereogum, and Under The Radar among others.
WATCH (NSFW) videos for “Common Loon”:
YouTube (censored) version | Vimeo (uncensored) version
August saw the release of haunting album opener “Arp Omni” which the bands says is “A little sweetie ballad about falling for a person who takes risks in life,” named one of The FADER’s Songs You Need In Your Life upon its release, and “Veneficium” an “ebullient banger” (Stereogum) which the band says 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 came accompanied by visuals; 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.”
According to Jamie Stewart: "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."
LISTEN to “Arp Omni” | WATCH “Veneficium” Video
Jamie Stewart spoke with The Quietus for an illuminating piece: Switchblade Romance: Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu Interviewed.
Xiu Xiu just embarked on extensive World Tour Dates surrounding the album’s release (SEE ALL DATES BELOW).
Xiu Xiu - WORLD TOUR DATES
# w/ EVICSHEN
% Special commission by Seattle Theater Group – dance by Zoe Juniper with live music by Xiu Xiu
09/23 - Portland, OR @ Holocene
09/24 - Arcata, CA @ The Miniplex
09/26 - San Diego, CA @ The Loft at UCSD
09/27 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge
09/28 - Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole
09/30 - Austin, TX @ The Parish
10/02 - Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves
10/03 - New Orleans, LA @ Siberia
10/05 - Orlando, FL @ Conduit
10/06 - Miami, FL @ Gramps
10/07 - Tampa, FL @ Crowbar
10/08 - Savannah, GA @ Lodge Of Sorrows
10/09 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
10/10 - Durham, NC @ Duke Coffee House
10/11 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat
10/13 - Baltimore, MD @ Metro
10/14 - Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMoca
10/15 - New York, NY @ LPR
10/16 - Providence, RI @ AS220 Live Arts
10/17 - Portland, ME @ Space Gallery
10/18 - Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmont
10/19 - Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground
10/20 - Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
10/21 - Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
10/22 - Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
10/23 - Des Moines, IA @ xBk
10/24 - Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck
10/26 - Fort Collins, CO @ The Coast
10/27 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
10/29 - San Francisco, CA @ Gray Area Foundation for the Arts
10/30 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Lodge Room
11/08 - Groeningen, Netherlands @ Vera
11/09 - Den Bosch, Netherlands @ FAQ Festival
11/10 - Rotterdam, Netherlands @ De Doelen
11/11 - Brussels, Belgium @ La Botanique
11/13 - Bristol, UK @ Strange Brew
11/14 - Brighton, UK @ Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts
11/15 - Stockport, UK @ Saint Mary’s Parish Church
11/16 - Glasgow, UK @ Room 2 Cottiers
11/17 - Oxford, UK @ The Bullingdon
11/19 - London, UK @ Heaven #
11/20 - Cardiff, UK @ Clwb Ifor Bach #
11/22 - Brest, France @ Festival Invisible #
11/23 - Paris, France @ Hasard Ludique #
11/25 - Grenoble, France @ Le Ciel #
11/27 - Nurnberg, Germany @ Soft Spot / Kantine #
11/28 - Prague, Czech Republic @ Meet Factory #
11/29 - Berlin, Germany @ Lido #
11/30 - Poznań, Poland @ Próżność #
05/17 - Seattle WA @ Moore Theatre %
05/18 - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre %
XIU XIU ONLINE: INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK / WEBSITE
No comments:
Post a Comment