Impermanent Candy: Xiu Xiu Aim for an Uncompromising Future

The obvious first question to ask Xiu Xiu‘s Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo is about the title of that new album. It is one of the band’s very best, and it is called 13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips. Singer Jamie Stewart had a list of potential album titles written down, and when Seo scanned the list, she said instantly, “That’s it.”

So, where did this contender for album title of the year come from? “Well, I have a lot of collections. I call myself an amused collector, but Angela calls it hoarding. In my collection of switchblades, the nicest ones are Frank Beltrames. My Beltrames actually have the imitation bison grips, but the title is already long enough,” Stewart laughed.

“I think we’ll get a lot of ‘the rainbow one’ or ‘the new one’ at the merch table this fall,” Seo laughed.

Stewart and Seo have honed their partnership to play to their strengths since Seo joined the band full-time in 2014, although she has been contributing to Xiu Xiu for longer than that.

“We were friends before we worked together. Even though we argue when we are working or we don’t agree, we both know that we have each other’s best interests at heart, and we are on each other’s side. Even if there is some prickliness, there is also trust. It’s easy to let problems go because we are such good friends,” Stewart explained. 

“We are both willing to let the other person do their part. There is a general role for each of us. For example, I have no interest in being the lead singer,” Seo laughed.

“I am good at the bigger picture, and Angela is very good at decision-making and seeing the beginning, middle, and end. I have my face in the garden, and Angela is floating above it all,” Stewart laughed. “I can’t finish anything on my own.”

One thing every Xiu Xiu fan knows is to expect the unexpected from a new record. After the relentless, heavy sound of last year’s Ignore Grief, 13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips is a sharp left of a piece with their more accessible releases. From the opener “Arp Omni”, it is clear that this is a very different record than its predecessor, but instantly recognizable to Xiu Xiu fans in the best way. Stewart and Seo don’t set out to make an abrasive or accessible song cycle. They trust the process and follow their instincts, letting their collaboration and influences take them where they will.

“We try not to think about the sound as much as possible. Whatever is happening, we try to stay out of the way and just see what shape it will take. We avoid making conscious decisions. After a little while, we start to identify the parameters, but we don’t have a plan ahead of time,” Stewart said.

Opener “Arp Omni” begins the record on a reserved note, but the lyrics are as unsparing as ever, with Steward singing, “I have done almost nothing right / My entire adult life / But having dared to touch the fire with you/Breaks the chains of my being nothing.” “Maestro One Chord” delivers their trademark layers of noise and tension. “Veneficium” lurches along to a lovely keyboard hook. This is one of the prettiest and catchiest Xiu Xiu records, but the band’s signature blend of allure and menace remains intact.

13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips was introduced with lead single “Common Loon” and its phenomenal NSFW music video starring performance artist Alicia McDaid, who will join the band for a pair of performances on the upcoming tour. Attempting to describe it is pointless. Just watch it someplace other than your work computer and revel in its unhinged joy. The song is destined to become one of their most beloved, delivering so much of what makes the band so compelling in around three and a half minutes. Upon meeting McDaid, Seo knew she wanted to ask her to be involved in a Xiu Xiu video.

“I met Alicia in Berlin through a mutual friend. Right away, I really liked her. Then I looked at what she’s doing, and it’s Garfield, and it’s Britney Spears, and it’s all sorts of wildness, so I sent it to Jamie. It was his idea to let Alicia make the video,” Seo said. “I said let’s give her all the money and let her do whatever she wants. She is a wild and magical being,” Stewart said.

For a while now, Seo has made nearly all of Xiu Xiu’s videos. Previously, the band’s videos were mostly made by interested parties from outside the band, most of the time focusing on appropriately capturing the dark subject matter of the songs. “For a long time, we didn’t get interested in making our own videos. We let people outside the band do them, and they ran with their own interpretations. And Jamie hates being in them,” Seo laughed. 

Seo’s commitment to keeping the videos DIY gives them an approachable charm. “Sometimes I would like to make the videos almost horror, but I am doing most of it DIY, so it gives them a homemade absurdity that I just have to go with,” she said.

While some of the videos have a certain lightness, Xiu Xiu’s reputation as an uncompromising band with gut-wrenching lyrics is well-deserved. The band has tackled some of the darkest subjects imaginable; however, the provocations studiously avoid cheap shock value, instead leaning into empathic portraits of people in harrowing situations. Unsurprisingly, they are big fans of filmmaker Todd Solondz and have paid tribute to his film Storytelling on one of their album covers. Solondz also explores the darkest corners of the human experience with humor and imbues even his most sinister characters with humanity.

“We do approach our work with a tremendous amount of care. A lot of what we talk about is fraught and difficult, and because of that, we want to present as respectfully as possible,” Stewart said.

As expected, Xiu Xiu are comfortable acknowledging when a song doesn’t work out the way they hoped it would.

“Sometimes I realize I could have written the song better; sometimes songs have an emotional relevance at the time, but now that is different for me. And the song ‘Black Dick’ is one time when I realized that I hadn’t taken the right approach. It was about questioning sexual fetishism in a Dadaist way. But after talking to people, I now realize it wasn’t the right way to approach the question. It’s not on subsequent represses of that record,” Stewart said.

“We are mindful about how things might be interpreted and also aware of the limits of our own perspectives. We would want people to tell us if the meaning has changed. We are always willing to listen. We recognize that people and situations change,” Seo added.

This unrestricted honesty and rawness have helped the band grow a dedicated fanbase. The album cover for 2012’s Always is a fan-submitted image of a Xiu Xiu tattoo. The band is humbled by the love and appreciation of their fans.

“I am unbelievably fortunate with the fans we have. Our fans are incredibly sweet. Most of the time, talking to people is pleasant and heartening. Also, these people have made my childhood dream come true. So talking to people at the merch table, answering an email, talking to people is really the least that I can do,” he said.

“I am spoiled by Xiu Xiu fans because my friends in other bands don’t have fans that are as sweet,” Seo added. “But it [chatting with fans] can be hard, only because I’m not super social. My instinct is to pack up and get ready to go, but that’s not because I don’t want to talk.”

“When people tell us they are going through something, or they drove hours to get to the show, it gives this a deeper meaning. Being able to be with our fans on a human level reminds me why I am wherever I am after driving all day to get to the show. That interaction is so very important. It is something that I dread, but it really is the main thing that keeps me going on the road,” Seo said.

Stewart added, “My father was a musician; when I told him I wanted to pursue music as a career, he asked me why. He told me the reason for being serious about music is to give it to people. This has been the main motivation for me to do this. With all that music and art have given to us, it is a privilege to be part of that continuum.”  

We are now 20 years out from Xiu Xiu’s breakthrough album, Fabulous Muscles. Stewart is taking it in stride. “It freaked me out when our first record turned 20. I didn’t even think about it until I saw a fan’s post on social media. I feel very grateful and shocked that that time has passed. It’s also a reminder that I better keep doing it because it’s too late to do anything else with my life,” he laughed.