To some, Xiu Xiu are the epitome of what a cult band should be. Since their inception in 2002 they have released 12 albums, if you include last year’s Record Store Day release Plays the Music of Twin Peaks, that runs the gambit between alt/ambient/art/experimental rock, noise pop and everything else in between. Now they are on the cusp of releasing their thirteenth album, Forget, which showcases that Shayna Dunkelman, Angela Seo and Jamie Stewart have not let up in their fifteenth year.
‘The Call’ kicks the album off in fine form. After an opening salvo of fastly spat lyrics, maelstroms of tight beats and synth loops that envelope you, Stewarts’ ethereal vocals float above the music giving it an eerie vibe. The track ends with the same level of abrasive rapping as it started. From this track alone you can immediately tell this isn’t going to be like your average Xiu Xiu album, if a thing even exists. Stewart, Dunkelman and Seo are out to not only challenge us, the listeners, but themselves too. At times it sounds like Xiu Xu have ditched their alt-rock background and have decided to make a hip-hop/grime album. ‘Queen of the Losers’ follows quickly and the blueprint is similar. Claustrophobic electronic loops and motifs create a feeling of harrowing unease, while Stewart’s vocals try to remind you this is the same band you’ve always liked, just with a slightly different backing track. At times it feels like an abrasive/industrial Arcade Fire which is being fronted by Scott Walker. ‘Wondering’ is more of the same, but everything has a doom-pop sheen.
The stand out track, lyrically speaking, is ‘Get Up’. This is an existentialist master class, in which Stewart’s falsetto vocals soar as the lyrical content descends like a fog. Opening with the lines: “A piano feel on my face/You told me to get up/When I could not control myself/You said to get up/Consciousness demolished/And I try to hold the pain inside/ You say to hold it in/Love me forever/Don't forget me/It's late in the game to ask/But I'm still asking”. However, the real kicker is when Stewart croons “How is a mystery/When I am shocked/By my own foolishness/You say you are not as shocked/Why I repeat that I am shocked/By my own foolishness/You get up and leave the room”. This might sound like the track is harrowing, but there are hints at redemption, which pepper Forget and this is the real joy of the album.
The album closes with ‘Faith, Torn Apart’. Instead of a bombastic dose of art rock, ‘Faith, Torn Apart’ is a slow burner that twists the skews until it, and the album, reaches its exquisite outro.
On Forget Xiu Xiu have made an album that will delight old and new fans alike. Underneath its abrasive bravado there is a gentle and timid album lurking. The subtle melodies of ‘Wondering’ and ‘Jenny GoGo’ show that this is a band that is at the peak of their creative powers and are having fun making music, even if that music doesn’t always reflect this. There is a feeling of self-loathing and malaise that permeates Forget but, at times, the music is light and joyful, giving the album a great juxtaposition that, like Voltaire’s Candide, make you think everything is going to work out OK in the end. But this is Xiu Xiu we’re talking about so as soon as those thoughts enter your head they are washed away by a wave of glorious doom-pop. This is an album that even after one listen you won’t easily forget.
Nick Roseblade