Xiu Xiu – Women As Lovers
Women As Lovers is Xiu Xiu’s 6th album. I first heard Xiu Xiu randomly in a car parked at a shopping centre about 4 years ago. The radio was on JJJ and they had some segment on where one person would choose something to play that they thought no one would have heard before. That song was I Luv The Valley, Oh!, an intensely INTENSELY fucked up song that has one of the most horrifying and beautiful screams I’ve ever heard in it. From that day I’ve been a pretty massive Xiu Xiu fanboy. I saw them play a few years ago and I had to stop myself from bursting out crying most of the show, it was probably the heaviest, most heartwrenching show I’ve ever seen. Jamie Stewart was also really short.
Women As Lovers is the first Xiu Xiu album to feature real drums (well the whole way through anyways), these are done by Ches Smith (Secret Chiefs 3, 7 Year Rabbit Cycle). It’s probably the most ‘band’ recording they’ve done. It also features Greg Saunier from Deerhoof on a bunch of tracks.
I love every song on this album with the exception of one song (the reason this is #10 and not 2 or something). On paper it sounds amazing, Xiu Xiu with Michael Gira of Swans covering Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie. BUT it sucks so much, it’s so awful. I have to skip it everytime and I’m really not sure why I don’t like it so much. I mean, they covered ‘Don’t Cha’ by the Pussycat Dolls and THAT ruled. Anyways, that aside. Here are some things I really like about this album.
The album opens with the sweetness that is I Do What I Want When I Want a wonderfully twinkly number with a sweet saxaphone solo in the middle and little ‘doo doo doo doo’ bits all over it. In fact, the first 5 songs are some of my favourite Xiu Xiu tracks. F.T.W. is probably their most frail and acoustic song since Fabulous Muscles, I listened to that song over and over about 10 times the first time I heard it.
On Women As Lovers, Xiu Xiu are as laying-out-all-your-dirty-brain-secrets as ever. No Friend, Oh! could quite as easily be about two young lovers or a child running about with a paedophile. Whilst, Black Keyboard’s “Why would a mother say such things?/Why add tongue to a kiss goodnight” line couldn’t be more of an uncomfortable listen. But, as always it’s their need to go into the darkest of dark places that makes them so great. I heart Xiu Xiu very much. Oh, and the version I got came with a bonus DVD with all their film clips (most I’d never seen before) and short films of them on tour asking random people at their shows what their problem is.
Here is the video for their song I Do What I Want When I Want. It has a lot of home video camera footage of people picking up people and throwing them at things plus Jamie does a rad spin around dance thing.
