Xiu Xiu : 13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto With Bison Horn Grips
Thoughts on Jamie Stewart’s long-running experimental art vehicle run an unusually sprawling range from respect to love to disgust to wishing he would stop fucking around and write songs that convey the kind of powerful anguish that “Dear God, I Hate Myself” does. But then again Xiu Xiu never remain in one fixed place for long. Their 17th album, 13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto With Bison Horn Grips, is no different, even as it revisits some familiar terrain. Its leadoff track, “Arp Omni,” finds them engaged in a hushed Lynchian ambiance, but it’s hard to ask more from the band than what the second song, “Maestro One Chord,” delivers. There are no compromises made to their brand of strange darkness, riding an anxious groove toward perfection.
The key to their explorations in music as art lies in “Veneficium,” as the hint of prog rock powers the song’s groove that creates a needed balance building beyond merely odd dissonant sounds into a more accomplished presentation of musicians showcasing their instrumental prowess. Even long-time fans need to be reminded of this sometimes; it is easy to become immersed in their brand just like avant-garde director David Lynch has branded his own sense of uniquely haunting surrealism. This balance of ambience and execution carries over into “Sleep Blvd,” while they run with the weird for “Pale Flower,” creating something that sounds like an audiobook of a John Carpenter screenplay narrated by John Waters. They wander back out into the land of abrasive sonic oddities in “T.D.F.T.W.”, which is even more effective after the taste of songs more grounded in melody.
Xiu Xiu are still willing to venture to the other end of the noise-minimalist spectrum for the trippy swath of free jazz-like ambiance in “Bobby Bland.” The album closes with “Pina, Coconut and Cherry,” which offers up a dream state of abstraction. Electronic sounds blip and beep with no form or function aside from the drum beat from a ’90s Casio keyboard, while Stewart’s vocals feel like he is perfecting the art of capturing a nervous breakdown in the vocal booth. This is still very much in line with their signature approach—you can go with the flow on it since they have already delivered the actual songs, and sometimes you just gotta get this noisy shit out of your system to have your creative vision realized.
The nature of Xiu Xiu is such that every album tends to reveal itself through repeat listens, and 13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto With Bison Horn Grips is no different. Stewart and company continue to find new sources of inspiration to allow this album to stand proudly alongside their obtuse and often challenging catalog. A more accessible entry point is not even on the menu at the album’s hookiest moments, which is to be admired in an industry dominated by instant-satisfaction algorithms. Xiu Xiu once again gives polite society the middle finger.
Label: Polyvinyl
Year: 2024
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Xiu Xiu : 13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto With Bison Horn Grips
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