(Bella Union)
Xiu Xiu are not an easy
group to pin down. The band, centred around front man Jamie Stewart,
have gone through an ever changing line-up ensuring no two albums
sound the same. Collaborating with artists like Grouper, Devandra
Banhart and Michael Gira of Swans as well as taking unexpected turns,
like last years album of Nina Simone covers. There are some common
threads in his music. They write dark electronic pop songs full of
bitter humour, dark subject matters, and self-deprecating shown with
album titles like Dear God, I Hate Myself and Fag Patrol.
All of this is evident on the group's new album Angel Guts: Red
Classroom but its taken to an
extreme. The title is taken from a Japanese erotic film from
the seventies and the album's lyrics depict the Los Angeles
neighbourhood to which Stewart recently moved unaware of its
reputation for murder and gang violence.
Often Stewart would use
a happy melody or acoustic instrument to add the juxtaposition of
warmth to his lyrically dark songs but with Angel Guts he has
limited his sonic palette to just analog synths, drum set and 1970′s
analog drum machines. Cold analogue tones befitting a dystopian
sci-fi film are dedicated to creating an unwelcoming atmosphere, a
feeling of hopelessness and the sense of a problem that can't be
solved.
The first track Angel
Guts mostly compromises of a quiet field recording, like that barley
audible hum that is ever-present in any city. It last for three
minutes and shows that a) this is not an easy listen and b) this
album captures a loneliness, that irony of being surrounded by people
but having nobody to talk to. Stupid in the Dark begins like those
aggressive creations of influential New York band Suicide. A drum
machine beat gives form to the hurried rhythm as analog instruments
become primal creatures, spewing bursts of harsh noises. Tracks like
El Naco showcase Stewart's erratic delivery; part paranoid fever
dream, part unhinged cry of terror. The overall effect is like a
heady blend of early industrial music like Throbbing Gristle with the
surreal and abrasive black melodrama of Scott Walker's recent output.
New Life Immigration
tells of a double suicide, and musically and lyrically offers one of
the more hopeful moments here. Unlike on the other tracks a way out
is presented from fear and anger, a chance at peace is offered in the
repeated line “We don't need to live be loved”. Almost
anthemic, Botanica de Los Angeles stands out near the end of the
album with its huge defiant stomp of a mechanical drum beat and
rumbling bass line as a fuzzy lead line snakes its way around the
mix.
Even though the album
is made up of track that hang around the three minute mark this is
not an easy listen. It may seem like I’m overstating how dark it is
but there isn't anything redeeming in these tales of death and
depravity though you do feel like these stories are coming through a
character, his psyche battered and whipped into a paranoid frenzy, a
victim of his environment or just an unreliable narrator. Angel
Guts: Red Classroom is an odd
listen but it does create a place, not one that you'd ever want to
spend much time but it feels like Xiu Xiu gave their all to this
concept and it makes for an interesting experience.
Originally posted on figure8magazine.co.uk
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