I’m doing, I think, three songs from OH NO (2021)-I’m playing an opening set, so it’s not a full-length set.
I ended up having to do it as a solo thing, so I’m trying to figure out ways to make that be more than just singing and guitar. Jamie Stewart: Yeah, just practicing a lot-trying to do some extra work. Photo by: Julia BrokawĮLEVEN: It sounds like you’ve been busy-are you mostly getting ready for the tour? Stewart called the record a “thank you” to those who helped get him through a difficult time, but rather than sounding like a purge, it feels complex, multi-layered, and, ultimately, inviting.Īhead of Xiu Xiu’s upcoming tour (and feature at Treefort Music Fest), ELEVEN spoke with Stewart over the phone, touching on some of the themes explored on the album, including the challenges and benefits of recording a (mostly) fully remote record, and the pleasant surprises of working with the creative counterparts across OH NO. No sonic stone remains unturned, and the guest appearances bring alternating currents of energy and creativity to the tracks. OH NO is an exceedingly comprehensive and impeccably produced record. “Rumpus Room” truly bangs around, taking the bizarre (for Xiu Xiu) designation of a foot-tapper and something you’d put on to get bodies moving.
It overwhelms the senses, and the instrumentals pull Stewart and Chelsea Wolfe’s vocals down into a tarry pit of languishing sounds. It emphasizes a pounding beat, driven by aggressive, hammering punctuations. A cover of The Cure’s”‘One Hundred Years” brings an industrialized and somehow-edgier tone to a classic track. It is a touching track-one that is indicative of much of the lyrical content across the album, looking for heroes or begging for accountability from its subjects. Dymphna, a 15th-century patroness of abuse victims and the mentally ill. “Saint Dymphna,” featuring Twin Shadows, unfolds as an updated ballad about St. Van Etten and Stewart take turns trading lines about a deteriorating relationship over a spare but shimmery backdrop in “Sad Mezcalita” marked by long synth chords and pitched drums. Unfolding across a true amalgam of sonic landscapes, Stewart is joined by the likes of Sharon Van Etten, longtime production and creative collaborator Greg Saunier ( Deerhoof), Owen Pallett, Twin Shadow, and Liars, to name just a few. It could be described as an album of duets, yet somehow, that term carries a bit too much of a classical connotation to really describe what takes place. In early 2021-after a year of whatever 2020 was-Xiu Xiu released OH NO, a 15 track record featuring collaborators on each song. Some of the best and most memorable moments jump out when a new voice or instrumentalist enters the fray. Still, one of the hallmarks of Xiu Xiu is collaboration, whether that takes the shape of producing, composing or performing across its robust discography. In 2009, Stewat’s roommate and creative co-conspirator, Angela Seo, joined to form the core duo. Often billed as ‘experimental,’ Xiu Xiu really should rather be called ‘exploratory,’ given the breadth and nature of their influences: noise rock, punk, post-punk-roll the dice and pick a genre chances are, it’s on an album, and they’ve pushed it to the limit.Īlthough the group has taken many forms over the course of its existence, the exception has been Xiu Xiu’s founding member and creative bastion, Jamie Stewart. Xiu Xiu makes music that makes people pay attention.īeginning with 2002’s Knife Play, the band has, as a rule, delved into a new flavor with each subsequent release.
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