Since forming in 2002, Xiu Xiu have carved out a niche for themselves in the avant pop community by making music that’s in your face. While this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s abrasive or violent it would be hard to imagine listening to a Xiu Xiu record and not remembering the lyrics. Bandleader Jamie Stewart has a knack for using his words to make the listener unsettled, routinely taking on subject matter like the presidency of George W. Bush or the suicide of his own father with a level of brutal honesty that not many people would be comfortable with on their own. This means that Xiu Xiu probably isn’t the happiest band you’ll ever hear, in fact, for much of the band’s existence Stewart has made art out of the gutter of our society. But nonetheless he’s proven over and over that from some of the darker corners of the world comes great beauty.
Always is no exception to this rule. The 9th studio LP from the San Jose natives is music for the downtrodden, the bitter, and the alienated. It would be easy for this stuff to be downright depressing and unlistenable when considering the subject matter, but luckily Stewart’s backing ensemble, including producer Angela Seo, provide a buoyant counterpunch to even the darkest moments of the record. The best example of this comes on "I Luv Abortion", a song Stewart wrote about his friends decision to have an abortion. Whilst he sing/screams lines like, "When I look at my thighs I see death, it is great, I love abortion, you are too good for this life", Seo’s dark chirping synths keep everything purely centered in the world of pop.
The variety of sounds on Always is a lot to deal with. It all starts on the upbeat, new wavey "Hi", as accessible a song as one will find in Xiu Xiu’s catalog. It’s a little off putting to hear Stewart come over the top with, "If you have a hole in your head, say hi. If you have a stitch in your wrist, say hi". This is followed by "Joey’s Song" which would be a real downer if not for the glistening shoegaze that backs up the lyrics, and further towards the end of the record ‘Smear the Queen’ is a beautiful slice of 60’s tinged psych rock that is pulled off with an expert’s touch. The highlight is "Beauty Towne" a sort of postscript for the band’s "Clowne Towne", which appeared on 2004’s Fabulous Muscles, the jangly synthesizers are enough to make one believe that Xiu Xiu could make it strictly as a pop band.
Thankfully though Stewart allows himself to be laid bare on a few separate occasions. "The Oldness" features little else than his downcast crackling vocals and a wandering piano while "Factory Girls", a track about Chinese migrant workers, is equally as sparse and troubling. "Born to Suffer" and "Gul Mundin" are reminiscent of the hard-hitting IDM that worked so well on previous releases like 2003’s A Promise, and the aforementioned Fabulous Muscles, the gloomy undertones of the accompaniment sync up perfectly with Stewart’s lyrics.
The broad range displayed on Always is nothing new for Xiu Xiu. Having proven themselves to be competent in many different disciplines and genres over the years this album could come off as a bit tired and safe. Happily though I don’t think that anything Jamie Stewart touches will ever be considered tired and safe.
Grade: B
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