Xiu Xiu announces album of duets & shares lead single

Album release: 26 March 2021
Label: Polyvinyl Records

Xiu Xiu return with their 12th studio album, OH NO, a collection of duets out March 26th on Polyvinyl. To herald the announcement, the two-piece shares the lead single “A Bottle of Rum” featuring Liz Harris with an exciting new video directed by band member Angela Seo. Previously, Harris and the band collaborated on Creepshow (2007).

“A Bottle of Rum” is arguably more melodic than many Xiu Xiu songs. Featuring Liz Harris’s vocals on the harmonies, it exudes dreamy qualities mashed together with Stewart’s trademark ambiguous lyricism. According to Stewart: “About a year ago I bought a cheap bajo quinto, which is a 10 string low register guitar like instrument used in Tejano, conjunto and norteño musics. As it is a cheap one, only certain chords sound good on it. One of them, annoyingly, is the open ‘cowboy’ voicing of D major. When we started Xiu Xiu, founding member Cory McCulloch had a lot of rules for the band. One of them was we could never use this chord. It has become a creative game in the last few years to try and break some of these rules but in a way that respects that Cory had very good reasons for imposing them in the first place, so in this voicing, D major is an insipid chord.”

Stewart goes on to say, “I had been trying to write a song on this bajo quinto to no avail and then drunkenly (A Bottle of Rum) listened to the Grouper song, “Heavy Water/I’d Rather Be Sleeping.” A spark shone and feebly I tried to write something that, at least at first, sounded like it. I had asked Liz Harris, the gem behind Grouper and who is an old friend, if she would sing on this new record of duets. Initially I thought of her for another song but she specifically, although not knowing she had been the inspiration behind it in the first place, asked to be on this one. If the stars ever have aligned… well then.”

The video likewise conveys a hazy atmosphere, a world of soothing pastels and surreal imagery: death collecting citrus fruits, severed hands unearthed from gardens, and a morbidly carved pomegranate. Angela Seo shares: “This video, as often is with Xiu videos, is an amalgamation of things that I want and am into lately. When I was a kid, I always wanted a video camera and was fascinated with tapes, but couldn’t afford one. I’m an adult now, and can buy what I want, so I bought a used mini DV camera. I like how the tapes look, the specific way they capture color, and also the tactile feeling of inserting and ejecting a tape.” She adds: “Also, I’ve always had a love for noir films and their penchant for shadows, fate, doom, and drama. Our friend and superb drummer David Kendrick (Sparks, Devo, Xiu Xiu) wrote a three part noir story and this is part 1. In keeping with the times, most of this was intentionally DIY, shot alone or with just a couple of friends and a tripod.”

Watch the video for “A Bottle Of Rum” directed by Xiu Xiu’s Angela Seo HERE

According to Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart, OH NO was born from betrayal but now exists thanks to the “profound rediscovery of community and friendship.” It features collaborations with a wide plethora of artists including Sharon Van Etten, Chelsea Wolfe, Alice Bag, Circuit des Yeux, Owen Pallett, Twin Shadow, along with members of Deerhoof, Drab Majesty, Liars, Shearwater and many more.

“The guest stars of OH NO reflect the types of people, and many of the very same, who helped remind me that the ratio of beautiful humans to shitty humans is more like 60/40 rather than what I have always assumed was 1/99,” says Jamie Stewart. “Although there is an ‘I HATE PEOPLE’ pin on my guitar strap, I hate them less now.” His revelation, and the music that has come out of it, is a reminder of the power of Xiu Xiu’s music to surprise and connect. Listening to the songs on OH NO, it is hard to feel truly alone. Instead, it is a reminder that even when we’re alone, we’re alone together.

Pre-order OH NO HERE / Vinyl orders HERE

Xiu Xiu / OH NO (Polyvinyl)
Out March 26th

Tracklisting

1. Sad Mezcalita (Sharon Van Etten)
2. I Cannot Resist (Deb Demure / Drab Majesty)
3. The Grifters (Haley Fohr / Circuits des Yeux )
4. Goodbye For Good (Greg Saunier / Deerhoof)
5. OH NO (Susanne Sachsse)
6. Rumpus Room (Angus Andrew / Liars)
7. Fuzz Gong Fight (Angela Seo / Xiu Xiu)
8. I Dream of Someone Else Entirely (Owen Pallett)
9. One
Hundred Years (Chelsea Wolfe) [The Cure cover]
10. A Classic Screw (Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo)
11. It Bothers Me All the Time (Jonathan Meiburg / Shearwater)
12. Saint Dymphna (George Lewis Jr. / Twin Shadow)
13. Knock Out (Alice Bag)
14. A Bottle of Rum (Liz Harris / Grouper)
15. ANTS (Valerie Diaz