Thoughts on Xiu Xiu's new album, La Foret (review)

[dr. strangelove]

just right click on the "rooms" box, click "create room", and type in "xiu xiu" (no quotation marks), and you'll find us

[tommmmmm]

i'll only keep it up for a little while. maybe a day. but here's the record, all zipped up, for those of you not on indietorrents

rpi.edu/~stylit/music/laforet.zip

[smithcorey]

guys, i know the album is coming out in like two months and it is being leaked later than fabulous muscles was, but still don't you think you should wait a little longer before you leak it. i mean, face it, now that the xiu xiu message board is getting the album, that means that they're going to make it a lot easier to get a leaked copy out. the proof's in the pudding with this .zip file of the album. i know you can say that "we're promoting the album and getting xiu xiu's name out there more by leaking it", and that's true, but jamie has specifically stated that he doesnt' like to have his albums leaked.

"something to think about is that every record that gets stolen from the internet effects my publistist, booking person, record labels, distributor and band. all of these entities are independant and punk rock, these are not big lame corporations that are being stolen from but small, grass roots buisnesses and people who are trying really hard to be supportive of new music adn stealing from them makes it more and more difficult to exhist"

i also know that a lot of you are going to end up buying the album when it comes out, so i guess what i'm saying is that if you are going to download the leaked la foret, buy it when it comes out, and don't go spreading the leaked copy on limewire and slsk, leave it as small as it is right now. do jamie stewart a favor and respect his wishes. if you don't, maybe he'll decide not to make xiu xiu songs any more...

[dr. strangelove]

of course, the argument of file sharing is going to arise again, and if anyone is interested in the quotation smithcorey used, or for further discussion of file-sharing and its ethics, check out this post:

shzine.proboards10.com/index.cgi?board=xiuxiu&action=display&thread=1071183258

[ubusonic]

Yes. Shoot me. I found a copy online today.

However, I can't wait to get my hands on a legit copy. On CD. I always support Xiu Xiu by buying merch at their shows. And all of you should do the same. Shame on you if you don't.

By the way...

...nice work on the new CD. Thanks for not compromising your vision. It's absolutely fantastic. It kills.

If you ever need a place to stay in Chicago...

[FloatingDowntheLiffey]

every time i DL a leaked album from a fave artist i always buy 2 and give one away to someone who has never heard them before--i think thats fair?

dont you jamie? if you dont i guess i will do what you say

also--just how does this stuff leak?? are there vicious moles??

[blondeonblonde]

That was hardly a day Tom.

[Veck]

this is pretty fucking weak

have some patience
at least on Jamie's behalf

[Beryan]

i got it leaked today. but i already took it off my share folder, just so it doesnt spread any faster. i can speak for myself when i say i will buy the record when it comes out. and, i have already purchased every single xiu xiu release on LP and CD, along with seeing them 5 times. i think i have done my part. now excuse me while i go and enjoy the song "pox".

[Jesus]

Any controversial lyrics or songs this time around?

[no]

First time I listen to it...wasn't what I expected...on every single track. True dissapointment.

Second time, I am very very aware that there is something otherworldly and frightening about this and it's a very...very mature genreless album

Third time, I take cryptic notes:


clover
close and human, moves into almost too loud bells
theatrical yet beyond real real
slow, slower than "very slow"

muppet face
times of childishness
truly demonic electro noises
times of intense experimentation feels like a classical composition

mousey toy
sounds of war, flat horrid trumpets and electro chants from propaganda film screech melody

pox
guitar one note funk
voice blaring from speakers in evil dance club
club spinnnns around dizzy

baby captain
so so so calm almost acapella
feels like morning
grindy toybox machinery
soft soft plasticwrap bass takes it

saturn
growls, grand pianos thrown against walls quick
extreme war noises like atari turns to big beat
android whistle of torture 7th inning stretch

rose of sharon
cinematic, slowww again gothic/medieval tones
in a dark church, massive organ
liquidy strings pulse and meander
rusty human response to overwhelming organ grandeur
loud desperate swelling prayer
to jesus?

ale
taking it slow, no tempo at all
bells so oddly off beats
horns of a dopey quiet life
try to sound pretty but just too slow & tempo mistakes

bog people
tank starting up and off
calm before storm of another bomb
running from house to house with his little autoharp
everything crumbling now all around

dangerous you shouldn't be here
twee frighteningly twee and quiet
jagged sharp terror outside
cant make altar all is destroyed warzone aftermath
oh god..fallujah prisoner

yellow raspberry
soo theatric.....parade? huge funeral procession?
destruction of thought bluhh
need lyrics..



So yes. I have lost my mind, but this album is not...truly unlike anything I've heard before, beyond experimentation beyond sadness...beyond normal xiu-ness.

Keep in mind that the first time I listened to it I honestly had no great feelings toward it at all. You just have to...take it slower, slower, don't think about the live tracks, let it happen and it is something ELSE, something that seriously almost gothically evil yet so human as well. Just not not not what I expected.

[franty]

well, i'm listening to it for the second time now. it DOES sound different, but different GOOD.

well, not that any xiu xiu album sound like the previous, anyway.

one thing i really liked about fab muscles was the guitar riffs that sounded a lot like new order's to me, and that's good. jamie also whispers a lot more now... and there are some eletronic parts that remind me of múm.

i think it's a very brave move for jamie to go for a completely different way from his previous (most successfull?) work, and that's very good. i like changes. and xiu xiu is always changing.

i bet it's going to get some shitty reviews @ pitchforkmedia.com ;D

[cuntofhope]

I've only managed to download the first seven tracks so far. The tracks are quiet, melancholy and gloomy with Jamie's vocals very deep in the mix. It's absolutely genius sonically and the music is very emotional, although the lyrics are hard to hear and in some tracks there isn't really a sense of rhythm [which isn't a bad thing]. Almost Fag Patrol-esque with more instruments and more dissonance/darkness. Here's my review track by track. Sorry, I use a lot of pretentious, cliche critical language:

1. Clover - Very slow, but beautiful. Especially the closing. I usually am pretty meh about Jamie's soft falsetto, but it works here. Gorgeous cello and xylophone. 4/5
2. Muppet Face - Again child-like, poppy and "pretty" but strangely dark and synthy. Reminds me of Mœm. 5/5
3. Mousey Toy - Experimental and dissonant track. 4/5
4. Pox - Awesome. Very dark techno like "Poe Poe". 4.5/5
5. Baby Captain - The first minute is a little boring and acoustic, but it builds into a really great noisy pop song. 4/5
6. Saturn - Probably my favourite track so far. REALLY distorted and dissonant with creepy performance poetry. 5/5
7. Rose Of Sharon [Grey Ghost Version] - I definately prefer this version. It's all cinematic and epic. 4/5

I'll review the rest later.

[blaster]

hi - where are you guys finding this? if anyone could point me in the right direction, that would be rad. I'll buy the record of course, but just want to hear a track or two. thanks.

[Floatingdowntheliffey]

Disappointing. A Promise without the razor edge. Oh well every band gets a throwaway--Pablo Honey anyone?