Xiu Xiu’s Latest Album Shows Off Their Irresistible Noise

“I have done almost nothing right / My entire adult life,” Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart sings on their new record’s opening track, “Arp Omni”. “But having dared to touch the fire with you / Breaks the chains of my being nothing.” In many ways, those lines describe the Xiu Xiu aesthetic – their often unsettling music tends to cross lines of shame and desire. The latest work from multi-instrumentalists Stewart and Angela Seo and percussionist David Kendrick will not come as much of a surprise for fans of their music. They’ve traveled these roads before, but never in such an all-encompassing way. In that sense, 13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips may be a perfect gateway for new fans.

But first, the title. In a recent PopMatters interview, Stewart explained that it refers to a particular switchblade in his collection. Coming off the heels of its 2023 predecessor, Ignore Grief, 13 is welcome partially because it doesn’t rely so much on the pounding industrial atmosphere of that previous album. Sure, the record has its harsh moments, but it begins on a gentle cloud of strings and synths: “Arp Omni” is almost like a hymn in its peaceful simplicity despite Stewart’s emotive crooning having an uneasy air.

Xiu Xiu’s trademark noisy swagger soon rears its head on “Maestro One Chord”, with an irresistibly funky backbeat and Stewart’s growling spoken word blanketed by menacing orchestrations. “Curious and unafraid,” Stewart repeats throughout the song. But sludgy hooks are abundant on one of the LP’s advance singles, “Common Loon”, which fuses thick riffs and noisy synths with catchy power-pop gestures. Again, this is familiar territory for Xiu Xiu; it’s refreshing to see all their sides so well represented.

The heavily dramatic atmosphere that drapes the haunting “Sleep Blvd.” is typical of their dark vibe, but Kendrick’s inventive percussion brings a whole other layer to the track, underscoring his vital place in the band. Along similar lines of unrelenting thump and inventive arrangements, “Veneficium” flirts with progressive rock, as the occasionally thorny time signatures and organ straight out of a Deep Purple show give the song an unexpected proto-metal heft.  

While Xiu Xiu are at ease with 1970s rock moves, the grittier, modern industrial sounds that dot so many of their previous works make appearances all over 13, perhaps never more so than on the pummeling “T.D.F.TW.”, as a stuttering, relentless beat and chugging distortion loom over Stewart and Seo’s urgent duet. It clearly proves Xiu Xiu are still vital, dangerous, and highly relevant.

While “Arp Omni” begins the record with a sincere, perhaps overly earnest declaration of love, the closer “Pina, Coconut & Cherry” is where things go off the rails. “A ballad rather than a rocker,” Stewart declares throughout the song, and when the love he feels so deeply for is not reciprocated, he goes mad. “I never thought I could love this hard for this long,” he wails and screams. “It makes me insane / You can’t refuse love like this / It’s criminal / You must love me, love me, love me.” It’s intense stuff, but Xiu Xiu are uncompromising artists who have an equal appreciation for the beauty in life and all of its dark, ugly corners.